Berlin, July 13 — German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has confirmed that Berlin will not supply Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, despite what he described as Kyiv’s “latest request.”
In an interview with the Financial Times, Pistorius reiterated Germany’s long-standing reluctance to transfer the high-precision missiles, citing concerns over potential escalation and the risk of NATO being drawn directly into the conflict.
“Germany will not provide Ukraine with its Taurus missiles, despite a renewed request from Kyiv,” the Financial Times reported.
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Kyiv has repeatedly appealed for Taurus missiles to counter Russia’s deeply entrenched military positions far behind the front lines. The weapons, capable of striking targets up to 500 kilometers away, are seen by Ukrainian officials as vital to degrading Russia’s logistics and command infrastructure — particularly in occupied Crimea.
Despite growing pressure from some NATO allies and domestic opposition figures, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has maintained that Taurus systems could only be deployed with deep integration into targeting processes, something Berlin is unwilling to risk.
Germany remains one of Ukraine’s top military backers in Europe, but this latest refusal underscores ongoing divisions among Western allies over the supply of advanced long-range weaponry to Kyiv.
Berlin’s position contrasts with that of the United Kingdom and France, both of which have provided Ukraine with comparable missile systems — the Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG respectively.
