Fact-check: Is the US blocking German plans to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine?
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A raft of social media posts have surfaced on X, TikTok and Telegram claiming that the US administration is prohibiting Germany from providing Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, reportedly because they contain American critical materials.
Euroverify investigated these claims, but found no evidence to date to corroborate them.
The Taurus KEPD-350 missile is a long-range cruise missile more sophisticated than those already provided to Ukraine by the US, France and the UK.
It can hit targets as far as 500km away — more than double the range of the cruise missiles Ukraine currently has — and could allow Kyiv to strike targets deep within Russian territory.
The missile also travels at a low altitde, making it extremely difficult for radar systems to detect.
Produced by German-Swedish entreprise Taurus Systems, the outgoing German coalition government headed by Olaf Scholz resisted international pressure to transfer the missiles from the inventory of the Bundeswehr to Ukraine's armed forces.
Scholz, speaking in March last year, described the transfer of Taurus missiles as "a line that I do not want to cross."
But chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, set to be elected next week, has signalled he would be
open to providing Kyiv
with the weapons.
This prompted a sharp backlash from the Kremlin, whose foreign spokesperson Maria Zakharova said earlier this month that Russia would consider Taurus missile strikes on its "critical transport infrastructure" as "direct" German involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
Now, a raft of social media posts have been widely viewed on X,
TikTok
and Telegram claiming the Trump administration has moved to block any future German deliveries of Taurus missiles.
One
X post
viewed more than half a million times claims that "two American companies have informed Berlin through the State Department that they are prohibiting the transfer of Taurus cruise missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
We traced the
origin of the report
to a known pro-Kremlin disinformation site. The posts circulating on X also come from known disinformation accounts.
The claim was also
shared
by an independent Ukrainian outlet EuromaidanPR, which failed to name the source of the information.
Euroverify reached out to the German Federal Ministry of Defence asking for clarity on the claims, and a spokesperson said that "we do not comment on speculation."
"Furthermore (...) we would like to inform you that we do not comment on discussions with our partners," the spokesperson added.
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It remains unclear whether the incoming German government will move to provide Kyiv with the Tauruses. Whilst incoming chancellor Merz has expressed willingness, his coalition partners the Social Democratic Party, led by Scholz, remain sceptical.
But there are no confirmed reports to date that the Trump administration has tried to block the move.
Donald Trump has in the past said he "disagrees very vehemently" with using missiles to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
Yet, his administration recently resumed the delivery of military aid to Ukraine, which includes ATACMS long-range missiles.
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LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Large crowds gather across the US against Trump, in both joyful and anxious atmosphere: 'We needed to know there were others like us'
The contrast could not have been more striking. While Abrams tanks rolled through downtown Washington on Saturday, June 14, as part of the military parade so eagerly desired by Donald Trump for his 79 th birthday, car horns blared in hundreds of locations in protest against the same president. On this day of national protest under the slogan "No Kings," nearly 2,000 rallies were organized across the country, from the largest cities to more remote towns, along highways and on bridges, in front of government buildings and in parks. Organizers claimed millions of participants nationwide. The map of protest activity, compiled by the organization Indivisible, reflected growing anger and apprehension, with a particular concentration in the major cities along both coasts, just as on April 5, the day of similar demonstrations. One detail stood out: More and more American citizens, mobilized to defend values as broadly shared as democracy and the rule of law, were afraid to give their names to journalists, even to foreign ones. They were afraid of being photographed. They were afraid of the consequences of their civic engagement. Leaving behind the area around the White House, the vast Connecticut Avenue already stretched into Maryland, where, approaching a major intersection, several hundred people lined both sides of the sidewalk. Some had hastily made signs out of delivery boxes. One man had turned a paint can into a drum, beating rhythmically with sticks. Many lived in the nearby neighborhoods, full of well-kept houses nestled in greenery and carefully maintained by gardeners from Latin America. Others had come from more remote parts of the state.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Millions take to the streets in 'No Kings' anti-Trump protests across the US
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France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Iran missiles kill 10 in Israel in night of mutual attacks
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