Pistorius promises Taurus missile decision for Ukraine within two weeks

This was stated during his speech at the Westphalian Peace Conference in Munster.

"If it takes a week or two for a decision to be made, so be it," the minister said.

According to him, Germany should weigh the consequences at every step.

"The Federal Republic of Germany must demonstrate this level of caution, even if it is difficult for our Ukrainian friends to understand," Pistorius said.

He emphasized that these missiles are "a very complex industrial product.”

"We are not talking about programming a coffee machine," Pistorius said.

Information available regarding Taurus missiles

The Taurus KEPD 350/150 is a subsonic long-range air-to-surface tactical cruise missile for precision strikes and destruction of highly protected and buried targets without the missile carrier entering the enemy air defense zone. The basic KEPD-350 model has a tandem concrete-piercing warhead weighing 481 kg and an explosive weight of about 50 kg. The weight of the refueled warhead is 1,360 kg, and the empty weight is 1,080 kg. The maximum flight range is at least 500 km.

In May, the media reported that Ukraine had requested long-range missiles from Germany.

Ukrainian MP Cherniev, citing his own sources, said that the Bundestag had reached a consensus on the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. At the same time, the German outlet Spiegel reported that Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to make technical modifications to the missiles to prevent Kyiv from striking Russian territory. At the same time, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeyev, spoke out against limiting the range of long-range Taurus missiles.

At the end of August, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for a speedy decision to supply Ukraine with these missiles, as every day is important.

On September 14, German MPs called on Scholz and Pistorius to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles, emphasizing that these weapons would help weaken Russia on the battlefield.