FAZ: Ukraine asked Germany for Taurus cruise missilesUkraine has officially requested long-range Taurus cruise missiles from Germany.
This was reported on May 26 by the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) with reference to the German Defense Ministry.
"The President of [Ukraine] Vladimir Zelensky has already spoken about this (about the transfer of missiles. — Ed.) to Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to Berlin in early May. The Chancellor's representative does not want to comment on this, but the Federal Ministry of Defense confirms that Ukraine has requested a Taurus," the publication says.
FAZ also stressed that Taurus can approach the F-16 fighters that Ukraine can receive from the West.
At the same time, according to the newspaper, many do not believe that "Ukraine will reasonably use such weapons as the Taurus", which can fly 500 km from the Ukrainian border. Because of this, there are many fears that, in case of a strong need, Kiev may lead to an uncontrolled escalation of the conflict.
As the Bild newspaper noted, the analogue of the Storm Shadow missiles is capable of "piercing a reinforced concrete wall with a thickness of a meter." Taurus flies at an extremely low altitude, about 50 meters, which makes it almost invisible to enemy radars.
Earlier, on May 23, German MP Roderich Kiesewetter called on the German authorities to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine. According to him, the allied countries should go all in and hand over to Kiev all the weapons that will be used in combined arms battles.
On the eve of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured that the West will continue to supply Ukraine with weapons after the settlement of the conflict.
The UK Ministry of Defense announced the delivery of long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Kiev on May 11. They carried out a number of strikes on the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
Later, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace confirmed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) began using missiles supplied by London, without giving any details.
At the end of April, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Kiev's NATO allies were escalating hostilities due to the constant supply of weapons. Thus, according to the ministry's statement, the open arguments of Western countries about the "upcoming counteroffensive of Ukraine" confirm their direct involvement in the conflict.
Western countries have increased military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, amid the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
