BERLIN, May 27. /TASS/. Ukraine asked the German government to ship Taurus crusie missiles with a range of 500 km, the DPA news agency reported citing a German Defense Ministry representative.

"Such request came from the Ukrainian side in the recent days," the source said.

However, no details were provided on how many missiles were requested by Kiev.

According to Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung sources, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky discussed shipment of Taurus missiles with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to Berlin on May 14. According to the sources, Kiev wanted to receive them "urgently."

About 10 years ago, the Bundeswehr procured about 600 Taurus missiles, with about 150 currently ready for use. These missiles are considered similar to UK’s Storm Shadow missiles that have already been shipped to Ukraine. However, the German-Swedish missiles have a slightly greater range. According to local experts cited by RND, the MBDA missile manufacturer is able to ramp up Taurus production in case of their shipment to Kiev.