Berlin refuses to discuss missile deliveries to Kiev
Germany wants to maintain a 'low profile' on future arms deliveries to Ukraine and has refused to publicly discuss the potential delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev, according to a German government spokesperson on Monday.
Extensive public debate of arms deliveries helps Russia, according to Stefan Cornelius, spokesman for new Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Previous deliveries to Kiev under Olaf Scholz were widely debated in public.
'We will also no longer comment on any plans regarding the supply of Taurus cruise missiles,' Cornelius said, 'Information about what weapons and ammunition we are supplying should remain open. The situation is different when it comes to such details as the number of specific missiles. This information is not so important for the public, but the Russian aggressor can draw conclusions from it.'
The official silence could precipitate the long-debated delivery of the Swedish-German Taurus missiles to Ukraine, which Scholz opposed, citing escalation of the conflict, but which Merz is open to supplying.
Taurus missiles have a 500km operational range, meaning they could be used to attack targets deep inside Russian territory. Moscow has repeatedly warned Berlin that deliveries to Ukraine would make Germany a direct participant in the conflict.
'Since live-firing these cruise missiles is impossible without the direct assistance of Bundeswehr servicemen, a strike on any Russian facilities, critical transport infrastructure... all this will be regarded as direct German participation in military operations,' Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last month.
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