🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Ukraine could be inching closer to receiving long-range Taurus cruise missiles from Germany in what would be a boost to Kyiv's ability to strike critical far-off Russian targets.
On Sunday Nils Schmid, from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP), told German daily Der Tagesspiegel he did "not rule out" sending systems like the Taurus "in alliance with the Americans."
Andreas Schwarz, a German parliament member also part of the SDP, told German news outlet Der Speigel on Sunday that Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive, now into its third month, was "faltering" and Kyiv did "not have a significant air force to support it."
"That leaves only guided missiles such as Taurus cruise missiles, which the Ukrainian army could use to overcome the minefields laid by the Russians and retake territory," he said.
Ukraine has asked its Western backers for long-range strike weapons in military aid packages, and both London and Paris have committed the Anglo-French Storm Shadow, or SCALP, missiles in recent months.
Kyiv requested the German-Swedish Taurus cruise missiles just before its counteroffensive kicked off, but Berlin is yet to make a decision on furnishing Ukraine with the missiles.
On Friday, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeev, dismissed the idea of sending Taurus missiles being an escalation, calling this a "pseudo-argument" in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter.
A German Defense Ministry spokesperson told Newsweek on Monday they could not give any new information on the transfer of Taurus systems to Ukraine, referring to comments from German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on August 3.
"We are still of the opinion that right now this is not our top priority," Pistorius said on Thursday.
"We are not the only ones not delivering. Our American allies are not supplying these cruise missiles either. Ours have a special range," he said.
"The time for us to make a decision has not yet come."
The 16-foot-long Taurus missile has a range in excess of 310 miles, which is around double the Storm Shadow, also made by European missile manufacturer MBDA. However, experts have previously told Newsweek that the true strike range of the Storm Shadow could exceed its official number.
There are some questions over the exact range of the 3,100-pound Taurus, according to Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, Norway. In some political discussions, the range of the Taurus has been put at around 430 miles.
However, it is understood that Ukraine has agreed not to strike within recognized Russian territory, or politically sensitive Russian targets, with these long-range weapons.
Should Germany agree to send Taurus missiles, Berlin would likely demand a similar guarantee, Hoffman told Newsweek on Monday. Therefore, he added, a range of up to 430 miles would be de-facto restricted to operating within Ukrainian territory.
Apart from small differences, including how the two warheads are designed and the overall range, they would offer Ukraine the same batch of capabilities. Both types of air-launched cruise missiles, used by the German, Spanish and South Korean militaries, are designed to strike hardened and buried targets.
Update 08/07/23, 11.38 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from the German Defense Ministry.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more