Merkel's ex-advisor hopes Germany will provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles in month at latest

Christoph Heusgen, chairman of the Munich Security Conference and former adviser to former Chancellor Angela Merkel, told Radio Svoboda.

"I hope that at the latest this will happen at the Munich Security Conference, which will take place in a month," he said in response to a question about when, in his opinion, Germany will provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles.

Heusgen compared the situation with the missiles to the provision of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

"You may remember that when the debate about Leopard tanks was underway, we were also reluctant at first, but eventually changed our minds and provided Ukraine with these important tanks," he recalled and noted that these missiles are essential for strengthening the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Taurus missiles for Ukraine: what is known

In May, it was reported that Ukraine had asked Germany for long-range missiles.

At the end of June, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany did not intend to provide Ukraine with these missiles.

In early August, it was reported that the Bundestag had reached a consensus on the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

At the same time, the German newspaper Spiegel reported that Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to make technical modifications to the missiles to prevent Kyiv from striking Russian territory. 

Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, spoke out against limiting the range of long-range Taurus missiles.

On August 21, the German government’s spokesman reported that providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles is not on the agenda.

On September 4, the head of the Bundestag Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for being the only one in the coalition to block the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

On January 2, 2024, the chairman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, a representative of the Free Democratic Party, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, again called for the provision of these missiles to Ukraine.

For reference: 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 hidden targets without the missile carrier entering enemy air defense zones. 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 1360 kg, and the empty weight is 1080 kg. The maximum flight range is at least 500 km.