German Chancellor refuses to supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine, fearing to be dragged in war with Russia

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly opposed supplying Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, citing the risk of drawing Germany into the conflict.

"Germany is the largest military supplier to Ukraine in Europe. It remains so. But one thing is certain: we will not participate in war, either directly or indirectly. These two principles guide all of my decisions," he said on Twitter (X).

According to Focus, he told reporters that Berlin "should not bind itself... with the goals that this system achieves."

Deutschland ist der größte militärische Unterstützer der Ukraine in Europa. Dabei bleibt es. Klar ist aber: Wir werden nicht zur Kriegspartei – weder direkt noch indirekt. Diese beiden Prinzipien leiten alle meine Entscheidungen. #Taurus

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) February 26, 2024

"This clarity is necessary. I am surprised that some people are not even affected, that they do not even think about whether what we are doing can lead to a kind of participation in the war," said Scholz.

According to him, what Ukraine lacks is ammunition. He added that he was "very annoyed by the lack of balance between what is really needed now and the debate over this system (Taurus)."

"This is an extremely long-range weapon. And Germany cannot match what the British and French do (by supplying cruise missiles) in terms of target control and associated target control. Everyone who has dealt with this system understands this," Scholz said.

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that his country requires Taurus cruise missiles to defend itself against Russia and that concerns about escalation of the war are unfounded.

Earlier in the Bundestag, there were not enough votes to pass an opposition-introduced resolution calling for the supply of Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine.

At the same time, German MPs backed the governing parties' proposal to aid Ukraine, which included a call to provide Kyiv with long-range systems. The Taurus cruise missiles are not specifically mentioned in the proposal.