German politicians ridicule Taurus missile swap idea: 'Embarrassing'

A proposal for Germany to avoid shipping Taurus cruise missiles directly to Ukraine by sending the weapons to the United Kingdom or France instead met ridicule from several leading German politicians on Thursday.

The proposal, according to sources, would involve sending the German-made Taurus cruise missiles to either the UK or France in exchange for those allied countries shipping Ukraine more of their Storm Shadow missiles.

The idea "exemplifies the weakness" of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in supporting Ukraine, Green politician Anton Hofreiter told dpa on Thursday.

The proposal sends a clear message that "Britain can deliver, but Germany cannot," said Hofreiter, who chairs the German parliament's European Affairs Committee.

Ukraine has urgently sought Taurus missiles for months, but Scholz has blocked their delivery to Ukraine, reportedly out of concern that the highly capable weapon might be used by Ukrainian forces to strike sensitive Russian targets and thereby escalate tensions between Germany and Russia.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly insisted that they would use the missiles only to strike military targets in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

The Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing unnamed diplomats and government representatives, that Britain had already made an offer to Germany to send Ukraine further Storm Shadow missiles several weeks ago but has not received a response from Berlin.

Both Britain and France have already shipped Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. Just days ago, French Defence Minister Sébastian Lecornu announced the delivery of another 40 such missiles.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius denied any knowledge of the swap proposal in an interview with the Bild newspaper: "If there are discussions about this, then not in my ministry."

Neither the British nor the French defence ministries would address the report when asked by dpa on Thursday.

Scholz is facing increasing criticism from within his own coalition over his refusal to send Ukraine the missiles. Politicians from the Greens and liberal Free Democrats (FDP) have been particularly critical.

Hofreiter said that the proposed circular swap would be preferable to nothing at all, but the German-made Taurus missiles are far more capable than the Anglo-French Storm Shadow and are far less susceptible to electronic countermeasures.

The chairwoman of parliament's Defence Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, also roundly rejected the proposal.

"Ukraine needs Taurus, and it needs it now," she told the Handelsblatt newspaper. "Storm Shadow is not an equivalent replacement. In this respect, the proposal is unsuitable."

Roderich Kiesewetter, a leading foreign policy figure in the centre-right opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), called the idea "embarrassing" for Germany and an obvious contradiction of Germany's claim to leadership in Europe.

"It is also a sign of a lack of trust in Ukraine if Germany accepts the proposal," he emphasized. "That's why Germany should finally deliver directly, because supporting Ukraine with Taurus also serves our own security, prevents mass exodus and an expansion of the war."

Only Andreas Schwarz, a politician from Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD), was open-minded about the swap: "If Ukraine uses it, then that is certainly an option in the context of international cooperation."

European Union leaders are scheduled to discuss further arms deliveries for Ukraine at a summit next week called by Scholz, who has publicly prodded other EU countries to provide more military aid.

In an interview published on Thursday, Scholz expressed annoyance that Germany has faced criticism over arms supplies when the country - the most populous and largest economy in the EU - is behind only the United States in total aid for Ukraine.

"I am rather irritated that I have to constantly face criticism in Germany that the government is doing too little and is too hesitant. Yet we are doing more than all other EU states, much more," Scholz told Die Zeit newspaper. "That's why I'm currently on the phone a lot with my counterparts and asking them to do more."