BRUSSELS, August 14. /TASS/. The European edition of the US newspaper Politico reported that most Germans support German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in refusing to move quickly in providing the country’s Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev, meaning the weapons shouldn’t be expected in Ukraine soon.
The newspaper said Scholz is more concerned about the status of Germany’s ruling coalition than Ukraine. As Germany is taking its time to decide on donating the Taurus missiles, the delay is one of the few policy areas where people support their chancellor, according to the report.
"Scholz’s top worry at the moment is not the fate of Ukraine, but of his own coalition — an alliance between his Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats. About 80% of Germans are unhappy with the government’s performance amid an economic downturn and its persistent infighting over environmental policy and other issues. Scholz’s personal approval rating (31% approve, 66% disapprove) isn’t much better," Politico said.
While delaying a decision on the missiles, Scholz says he worries the weapons could be used to strike Russian territory, according to the newspaper.
"Ukraine needs the missiles to help it break though the Russian lines, which are extremely well fortified because Kiev didn’t get the tanks it needed (especially from Germany) quickly enough. As ever, Berlin is dragging its feet, claiming it would need to limit the range of the missiles so that Ukraine can’t attack Russian territory with them. That means Ukraine is unlikely to see the Taurus until the next Age of Aquarius," the report said.
Politico said many Germans oppose sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine as that would make Germany an active participant in the conflict in the eyes of the Russian leadership.
"If that sounds a lot like the intense debate Germans immersed themselves in for months last year over sending tanks and other heavy weaponry to Ukraine that’s because it’s exactly the same debate," the newspaper said.
Scholz’s remarks
Scholz commented on the possible delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine with restraint in an interview with the ZDF television channel on Sunday, noting that Berlin, as before, would weigh each individual decision very carefully. A Welt columnist noted that Scholz's protracted hesitation harms not only Ukraine, but also himself, undermining the chancellor’s credibility. The Welt said Scholz had used his fear of an escalation as an excuse too often. The piece said, however, that Taurus missiles would not change the rules of the game on the battlefield.
Earlier, the Bild newspaper cited sources as saying that the German government, contrary to some media reports, were not yet ready to transfer long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev. According to the newspaper, both the federal chancellor's office and the Defense Ministry denied the information that a decision on the delivery of missiles to Ukraine had already been made or was expected soon.
Discussion around Taurus supplies
The t-online news website reported on August 10, citing sources in the German ruling coalition, that the German government intended to announce "in the near future" the delivery of long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. Chancellor Scholz's office, according to the report, was discussing transferring the missiles with its key allies, primarily the US. Berlin has so far rejected the possibility of providing Kiev with Taurus missiles, which have the range of up to 500 kilometers. According to t-online, the German Air Force approved the shipment of the missiles. Last week, Scholz's office requested some important information from the Defense Ministry about Taurus missiles, such as the size of their Bundeswehr stockpiles, potential risks that could arise from their shipment and their effectiveness.
Kiev requested Taurus missiles from Berlin at the end of May. Sources told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky discussed this issue with the German chancellor in Berlin on May 14. Earlier, some politicians from the Greens and the Free Democratic Party, which are part of the ruling coalition, as well as members of the opposition alliance of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Unions supported the idea of giving Kiev the missiles, but the Social Democrats resisted it.
About 600 Taurus missiles were purchased for the Bundeswehr 10 years ago. The missiles are considered to be similar to the UK-made Storm Shadow missiles, which have already been delivered to Ukraine. However, the range of the German-Swedish missiles is slightly longer. Russia has repeatedly said that Western weapons sent to Kiev and Western assistance in training the Ukrainian military only prolong the conflict and will not change the situation on the battlefield.