Germany may provide Ukraine with modified Taurus missiles – media reports
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Germany may provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus cruise missiles in the coming months, but they are expected to be modified to make it impossible for them to strike Russian territory, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 11, citing its own sources.
A “reconsideration” about supplying Ukraine with the long-range weapons is now taking place, even though German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hesitated to provide Ukraine with them due to concerns that Kyiv could attack the Russian territory, the report said.
Over the past few weeks, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has asked the Taurus manufacturer to integrate a corresponding target programming limitation into the cruise missiles, the magazine claimed.
Industry circles say the implementation of such a restriction is possible but will take several weeks, Der Spiegel wrote.
Read also: Berlin preparing to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine — report
Scholz reportedly wants to approve the supply of Taurus missiles only when he is convinced of the appropriate technical modification, while he has no other fundamental reservations about the transfer of the missiles to Ukraine.
Berlin emphasizes the restriction does not apply to possible attacks on targets in Ukraine’s Crimea, which has been under Russian military occupation since 2014.
It is not yet known exactly how quickly the missiles can be delivered, the report says.
Military officials say deliveries of cruise missiles by the United Kingdom and France to Ukraine mean they are still sufficiently equipped with such weapons systems for the coming weeks.
Earlier Germany’s ruling party claimed that the German air force had greenlighted the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
On July 26, the chairman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, representative of the Free Democratic Party Marcus Faber, stressed the need to provide Taurus missiles for the needs of the Ukrainian defense forces.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius once again stated on Aug. 3 that Germany would not transfer Taurus to Ukraine, citing Washington’s reluctance to provide Kyiv with ATACMS missiles.
Two prominent members of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, advocate for Berlin to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 6.
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