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No plans to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine despite Kiev’s request — German defense chief

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also pointed out that Berlin was unable to provide Ukraine with more Patriot air defense systems after sending three to Kiev in 2023-2024

LONDON, July 14. /TASS/. Berlin will not send Taurus long-range missiles to Kiev despite another request from Kiev, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with the Financial Times.

"He said Germany would not deliver its long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine despite a wave of recent Russia air attacks and a renewed request from Kiev," the newspaper writes.

Pistorius also pointed out that Berlin was unable to provide Ukraine with more Patriot air defense systems after sending three to Kiev in 2023-2024. "We only have six left in Germany," Pistorius said, adding that two had been lent to Poland and at least one was always unavailable due to maintenance or training. "That’s really too few, especially considering the NATO capability goals we have to meet. We definitely can’t give any more," the German defense chief noted.

However, Pistorius did not rule out that he would discuss his proposal to let Germany buy two Patriot systems from the US for Kiev at a meeting with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in Washington on July 14.

Russian Ambassador to Berlin Sergey Nechayev told the Rossiya-24 TV channel earlier that Moscow would keep a close eye on what the German authorities would do in terms of sending Taurus missiles to Kiev.

Kiev has long urged Berlin to provide Taurus missiles. These are considered comparable to the UK's Storm Shadows, which have already been supplied to Ukraine. However, the Taurus has a greater range than the Storm Shadow. Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked at a TASS-hosted meeting with the heads of the world’s leading news agencies that Taurus supplies would destroy relations between Moscow and Berlin but would not stop the advance of the Russian Armed Forces along the entire line of contact.

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