Germany is under pressure to supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine – NYT

Germany is under pressure to supply Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles, especially since Britain and France have already provided Kyiv with similar weapons, The New York Times writes.

It is noted that American officials have not yet confirmed the dispatch of their army tactical missile systems, but a decision is expected to be made soon.

At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces growing pressure. The head of the German Bundestag’s defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, said: “He is under a lot of pressure and may want to end this discussion.”

The story said Scholz’s hesitation was due to many reasons, including concerns that Russia might intercept and reverse engineer the Taurus missile and the possible need to send German military personnel into Ukraine.

Earlier, the Bild newspaper reported that the German government does not plan to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine in the foreseeable future. Citing sources in government circles in Germany and Ukraine, the publication writes that so far Kyiv has not been officially denied supplies, although an official request has already been received. At the same time, as reported, the decision has already been made; Taurus missiles will not be delivered to Ukraine in the near future.

Earlier, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius spoke about the possibility of a quick solution to the issue of transferring Taurus missiles to Ukraine. The Chairman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, called possible attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russia with Taurus cruise missiles justified.

Former US military intelligence officer Scott Ritter said that the decision to provide Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv could provoke a war in Germany, and German politicians would themselves be to blame for this. He explained that the German leadership is naive to think that their actions will not cause any consequences. Ritter compared the transfer of missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Iran transferring a formidable weapon to the Mexican cartel to attack the United States.