Germany does not send Taurus missiles to Ukraine
Germany's Defense Minister said that despite Ukraine's request, Berlin did not send Taurus missiles as aid.
According to RIA Novosti, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with the Financial Times that the German government will not send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, despite “the latest requests” from Kiev.
According to the Financial Times, in an interview, Minister Pistorius discussed Germany's weapons situation, noting that the country "has only six Patriot systems left."
The German defense minister said he will meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington. During the meeting, the issue of the U.S. "roadmap" to ensure European security will be discussed. According to Mr. Pistorius, the ministers will also discuss the U.S. sale of two Patriot air defense missile systems to Germany, which are expected to be destined for Ukraine.
"Mr. Pistorius announced that Germany will not supply Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles, despite... a new request from Kiev" – Financial Times noted.
Germany is also drawing up a "procurement plan" for military equipment for the country until the 2030s, including the purchase of tanks, submarines, UAVs and fighter jets, Minister Pistorius added.
Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Berlin would support Ukraine in developing its own long-range missile system amid restrictions on attacks on Russian territory. Later, the German Chancellor noted that this decision was made several months ago. After a visit to Berlin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with RTL that Kiev and Russia are cooperating on the issue of supplying Taurus missiles, but refused to disclose details.
During a meeting with representatives of international news agencies at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the use of Taurus missiles would harm relations between Russia and Germany, but would not affect the progress of Russia's special military operations.
Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev previously stated that Russia will closely monitor Berlin's specific actions regarding the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine and training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use them.
