Britain has repeatedly urged Germany to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but Scholz remains reluctant - Bloomberg

The UK government has privately called on Germany to provide Ukraine with long-range German-made Taurus missiles. As an alternative to direct delivery, it was suggested that the missiles be transferred to London so that it could in return provide Ukraine with more of its own Storm Shadow missiles.

However, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not ready to accept the offer. He refers to the fact that Ukraine could use German Taurus to hit the territory of the Russian Federation, which would allegedly drag Germany into the war. The details are reported by Bloomberg.

The British government, according to the publication, has privately called on Germany to provide Ukraine with German long-range Taurus missiles. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, British officials have repeatedly tried to convey to official Berlin that the Ukrainian army desperately needs these missiles.

As an alternative to the direct transfer of Taurus missiles to Kyiv, London offered the option of Berlin transferring its missiles to Britain, and in return, Britain could increase the supply of its own Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, replacing its stocks with German weapons.

However, according to statements by current and former British officials, no understanding was reached with Scholz.

Thus, one of the interlocutors of the publication noted that "Germany should stop making excuses." And former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace made an even more harsh statement about the head of the German government.

"Scholz's behavior has shown that from the point of view of European security, he is the wrong person in the wrong position at the wrong time," he said in an interview with the Evening Standard on February 29.

These statements come on the heels of Scholz's recent comments ruling out the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Such a step on the part of Berlin, he is sure, would mean turning Germany into one of the parties in the war with Russia.

Scholz argued that if Germany were to provide Ukraine with "weapons with a range of 500 kilometers," they could reach Moscow's targets if misused.

"We have to make sure that we know where it will land," Bloomberg quoted the German Chancellor as saying, adding that the only way to control which targets are hit by German missiles would be to involve German troops in the process.

Bloomberg adds that the disagreement between the UK and Germany over Taurus missiles is part of a broader confrontation. Recently, Scholz said that the British and French military are helping Ukrainian soldiers hit Russian targets with long-range missiles made in France and Britain. According to Scholz, Germany is not ready for such practices.

"What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and the accompanying target control cannot be done in Germany," Scholz said on February 26.

In Britain, such comments by the German Chancellor were interpreted as a public statement about the secret activities of the British military in Ukraine. Reacting to Scholz's statement, a spokesperson for the British Prime Minister said that "a small number of personnel" were supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He did not go into details.

Alicia Kearns, chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee, also criticized Scholz.

"Scholz's comments are wrong, irresponsible, and a slap in the face to our allies... Scholz should give Taurus missiles and stop creating obstacles to Europe's security," she said.

Earlier, it was reported that Scholz gave a new excuse for why Germany does not give Ukraine Taurus. He said that without Berlin's control, the Taurus missile with a range of about 500 km can hit targets even in Moscow. Therefore, if Germany were to supply the missiles, it would have to be directly involved in the launch, as other partner countries do, according to Scholz. And Berlin is not ready for this, fearing to be drawn into a war with Russia.

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