Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on Germany to supply Taurus cruise missiles, giving assurances that this will not lead to an escalation of the war.

"Ukraine needs Taurus missiles to save more lives of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, accelerate the liberation of its territories and end the war faster," Kuleba said in an interview with German newspaper Bild.

The minister dismissed German government concerns that German missiles could also be used to attack Russian targets in Russia as "unfounded": "Firstly, because other partners have already supplied missiles with a similar range. Secondly, no previous decision by Germany to supply Ukraine with a new type of weapon has led to an escalation."

On the contrary, German weapons "have already saved many Ukrainian lives," Kuleba said.

"We don't need a foreign land, and we will use missiles only within our borders to liberate what rightfully belongs to us under the UN Charter and international law," he stressed.

The German government has stated that no preparations are currently underway to provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.

According to Spiegel, classified negotiations with representatives of the defence industry are currently underway on the issue of the missile transfer, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to make technical modifications to the missiles to prevent Kyiv from striking Russian territory other than Russian-occupied Crimea.