BERLIN, August 10. /TASS/. Supplies of Taurus missiles to Kiev may lead to an escalation and push Germany into a direct conflict with Russia, Sevim Dagdelen, a member of the Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament, from the opposition Left Party, said.
"The transfer to Ukraine of German cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers, capable of hitting Russian cities far beyond the [Ukrainian] border, would lead to a further dangerous escalation and tangibly push Germany towards direct war with Russia," Dagdelen said in a statement published on her page on Facebook (banned in Russia due to ownership by Meta, which has been deemed extremist in Russia).
She called "simply naive" the government coalition’s belief that "Ukraine will be able to control itself and avoid hitting targets in Russia with these weapons."
"After all, Ukraine is already conducting strikes on Russian territory, of which the recent drone attacks on Moscow were clear evidence," Dagdelen emphasized.
She is certain that the Taurus missile deliveries will only strengthen the Ukrainian leadership's determination to pursue "the dangerous aim of preventing peace talks from taking place until the complete capture of Crimea, set by [Ukrainian] President [Vladimir] Zelensky."
In this context, she urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to "in no way give in to pressure from Ukraine and representatives of his own party." Dagdelen believes that Germany should once and for all disavow all attempts to boycott efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis and "seek a ceasefire and peace without conditions on the basis of a compromise between the parties."
Kiev in late May requested that Berlin provide Taurus missiles with a range of up to 500 kilometers. Sources of newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said that Zelensky had discussed such supplies with Scholz during a visit to Berlin on May 14. The newspaper said Kiev urgently sought to obtain the advanced cruise missile system with stealth capabilities for evading radar.
About 600 Taurus missiles were purchased for the Bundeswehr 10 years ago, of which about 150 are ready for use. Taurus are considered to be a counterpart of Britain’s Storm Shadow missiles, which have already been delivered to Ukraine. However, the range of the German-Swedish missiles is slightly greater. Russia has repeatedly emphasized that Western supplies of weaponry to Kiev and assistance in training Ukrainian military personnel merely serve to prolong the conflict but cannot change the situation on the ground.