BERLIN, November 22. /TASS/. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has once again spoken out against sending Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine and authorizing the use of German weapons for strikes inside Russia.

"We have said that we don’t want to provide Ukraine with the cruise missiles that are capable of hitting targets deep inside Russia, and we have also said that we will not authorize such use of the heavy equipment that we have supplied," the chancellor said, addressing a congress of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in Berlin.

"I would like to point out that only the SPD can maintain a balance between caution and clear support for Ukraine," the chancellor pointed out. "People feel fear and concern. In this regard, I am committed to refraining from fueling further escalation," Scholz said.

Kiev has long been asking Berlin for Taurus missiles, which are believed to be similar to Britain’s Storm Shadow missiles that have already been delivered to Ukraine. However, the German-Swedish missiles have a slightly longer range of up to 500 kilometers. Scholz has repeatedly rejected the possibility of Taurus supplies to Ukraine, saying that it would create a serious risk of escalation.

The debate about the need to send Taurus missiles to Kiev heated up again in Germany after the US authorized the use of ATACMS missiles to launch attacks inside Russia from Ukraine.