The possibility of the German government handing over to Ukraine Taurus long-range missiles causes intense political debateas in the past the chancellery and the defense ministry had rejected the relevant Ukrainian request, for fear of a further escalation of the war in Ukraine, in case targets inside Russian territory were hit.

However, according to German media reports, the federal government is now seriously considering the request to send the state-of-the-art German-Swedish-made long-range air-to-surface missile, which is difficult to detect by enemy radars and is considered by Kiev to be of critical importance for the next phase of the Ukrainian counterattack . As Der Spiegel magazine reports, the Ministry of Defense is currently consulting under conditions of secrecy with the German defense industry in order to modify some technical characteristics of the Taurus and mainly to limit their range. Chancellor Olaf Solz “absolutely wants to rule out through technical modifications the possibility of Taurus being used by Ukraine for attacks on Russian soil, as he remains concerned about a possible escalation of the war,” Spiegel reports. According to the magazine, the talks signal a change in German attitude, although Mr Scholz remains wary of long-range missile delivery, as does the US.

“I stand by my initial reservations,” said Social Democratic Party (SPD) foreign policy chief Ralf Stegner. “Of course we need to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capability – this is also done with highly effective air defense systems. But the Taurus missiles are long-range,” Mr. Stegner said, warning of the risk of an escalation of the war. “The purely military perspective takes on a dangerous dynamic in itself. We no longer refer enough to initiatives to end the war,” he added. In the same vein, the SPD’s defense minister, Johannes Arlt, said that until now “for good reason we had decided to carefully weigh the risk and not deploy such a long-range weapon system” and emphasized that “like many others, I hope to remain there.”

However, the Liberals (FDP) take a different stance, with the representative of their Parliamentary Group for Foreign Policy, Uli Rechte, arguing that the debate should end with the delivery of Taurus. “Europe and Germany are committed to supporting Ukraine in its struggle for freedom and democracy. The Taurus system is “pars pro toto” for the overall responsibility we all have for our safety,” said Mr. Rechte.

The Greens at the same time seem to be in favor of the delivery of the Taurus: “It would be very good news for the people of Ukraine if Germany, like other countries, deliver long-range missiles for their self-defense,” said the vice-president of K .. of the Greens, Agnieszka Brugger, recalling that so far the Ukrainians have proven to be reliable partners.