Germany refused to follow France’s example on missiles

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday rejected Ukraine’s request to deliver long-range Taurus missiles, saying he could not follow the example of France and the United Kingdom because it “Will not be liable”. “It is a very long-range weapon, and what the British and French do in terms of targeting and support cannot be done in Germany.”Olaf Scholz declared to the German press agency DPA, in an interview subsequently broadcast to all media by his press service.

“From my point of view, that would be something that would not be responsible if we participated in the same way in managing targeting.” From these missiles, he added, Germany was warned against the danger it faced “in no way involved in war” directly “German troops must not under any circumstances and in any place be attached to the objectives achieved by these systems”Olaf Scholz elaborated further, clarifying that this also concerned the involvement of German troops remaining on their national territory.

Equivalent to Storm Shadow/Scalp

“What other countries are doing, which have other traditions and other constitutional institutions, is something we cannot do to the same extent.”, Olaf Scholz argued again. German Taurus missiles have a range of more than 500 kilometers and therefore, if possessed by Ukraine, could target targets deep inside Russian territory. This is why Berlin refused to deliver them to Kiev for several months, fearing that the conflict would spill over into Russian territory, potentially leading to escalation.

This is the equivalent of the German cruise missile Storm Shadow/Scalp, developed in parallel by the British and French and delivered to Ukraine. Starting in May last year, Kyiv received the Storm Shadow/Scalp (range of 250 km) delivered by France and the United Kingdom, followed by American ATACMS missiles (range of 165 km). “What Ukraine lacks is ammunition for all possible distances” shooting, “But decisively this thing does not come from Germany”Olaf Scholz said.