Christian Lindner, the German Minister of Finance, expressed support for providing long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine during his visit to Kyiv on Monday, as they would help bring Ukrainian victory closer.

As DPA agency reports, speaking about Berlin's support for Kyiv, the head of the German Finance Ministry emphasised that "Ukraine must prevail" in the full-scale war initiated by Russia.

"Therefore, from our side, there is a partial responsibility to ensure that Ukraine's current forces are always greater than the cruelty arising from Putin's war," he noted, adding that the German government aims to do everything possible to strengthen Ukraine's military capabilities.

Commenting on the question of supplying long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv, Lindner pointed out that it's a standard procedure – consultations with allies regarding Ukraine's needs and how to meet them.

"Since I know that many support such assistance – as do I personally – I hope for a swift clarification of these issues as soon as possible," he underlined.

Taurus missiles belong to the most advanced weaponry of the German Air Force. It is similar to the Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have already been provided to Ukraine by the United Kingdom and France (known as SCALP).

The missile is also capable of hitting targets even further, up to 500 kilometers, without entering the enemy's airspace. Taurus flies at nearly 1000 km/h at a very low altitude, less than 50 meters above the ground, making it difficult to detect by enemy radars.

According to Spiegel with reference to its sources reported that classified talks with representatives of the defence industry are currently underway, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to make technical modifications to the missiles to prevent Kyiv from striking Russian territory other than Russian-occupied Crimea.

Officially, the German government stated that there was currently no preparation for the transfer of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.