Giving Kiev long-range Taurus missiles 'not top priority': Germany
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The German Defense Minister says the worries about providing "special range" missiles to Ukraine "are obvious", and American allies "are not delivering these cruise missiles either."
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German Defense Minister speaks during a press conference in Lithuania, on June 26, 2023. (AP)
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday that providing Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles was "not a top priority" at the moment.
Germany was requested by Ukraine to give it Taurus air-to-surface cruise missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) in late May, but the government claimed to have so far denied the request.
Read: Ukraine requests air-to-surface missiles from Germany
During a visit to a mountain infantry brigade in Bavaria, he said we "continue to believe that this is not our top priority right now."
The worries about providing "special range" missiles to Ukraine "are obvious", he said, adding that their American allies "are not delivering these cruise missiles either."
Behind some initial hesitancy, Germany dramatically increased its support for Ukraine, and today, it ranks fourth as a provider of military aid to Kiev.
Just like Washington, Berlin allegedly opposes supplying Kiev with weapons that may reach Russia and thereby escalate the confrontation between both countries.
Read next: Ukraine running extremely low on anti-air systems, per Pentagon leaks
Pistorius emphasized that Germany was assisting Ukraine with "air defense, training support, engineering, and armoured vehicles" in a significant way.
"This is our first priority, our core competency," he said, adding that he saw "no urgent need for a decision" on the Swedish-German Taurus weapon system.
Last month, France made the announcement that it would join Britain in providing Ukraine with SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of more than 250 kilometers.
