Germany Refuses Taurus Missiles for Ukraine Despite Renewed Plea, Russian Attacks

By Staff, Agencies

German Defense Minister has announced that Berlin will not provide Taurus long-range missiles to Kiev, rejecting a renewed request from the Ukrainian capital.

“Germany would not deliver its long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine despite a wave of recent Russian air attacks and a renewed request from Kiev,” Boris Pistorius said in an interview with the Financial Times, released on Sunday.

Ukraine has long sought to add long-range missiles to its arsenal for use against Russia.

Taurus missiles are capable of striking targets at a distance of 500 kilometers, a range exceeding that of other long-range weapons Ukraine has received from its allies.

Russian Ambassador to Berlin Sergey Nechayev told the Rossiya-24 TV channel earlier that Moscow would keep a close eye on what the German authorities would do in terms of sending Taurus missiles to Kiev.

Elsewhere in his interview, Pistorius also said Berlin was unable to provide Ukraine with more Patriot air defense systems after sending three to Kiev in 2023-2024. 

“We only have six left in Germany,” Pistorius said, adding that two had been lent to Poland and at least one was always unavailable due to maintenance or training.

“That’s really too few, especially considering the NATO capability goals we have to meet. We definitely can’t give any more,” the German defense chief noted.

However, Pistorius did not rule out that he would discuss his proposal to let Germany buy two Patriot systems from the US for Kiev at a meeting with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in Washington on July 14.