“There is no sign of Germany finally delivering Taurus cruise missiles, because I still see no unity in the coalition and no political will to respond appropriately and with strength and consistency to Russia’s massive escalation,” Kiesewetter wrote in a post on X. “Such statements are therefore not helpful overall because they highlight Europe’s weakness to Russia.”
The confusion around whether Germany is prepared to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine threatens to overshadow Zelenskyy’s visit to Berlin on Wednesday. As Russia continues to hammer Ukraine with killer drone and missile attacks, European leaders are under pressure to formulate a tough response.
But Merz’s recent statements on long-range weapons for Ukraine have sown confusion.
The backlash against Merz began on Monday after he suggested Germany and its key allies had lifted range limits on weapons sent to Ukraine. “There are no more range limitations for weapons delivered to Ukraine. Neither from the Brits, nor the French, nor from us. Not from the Americans either,” Merz said.
The comments were widely interpreted to mean that Merz’s government was ready to make good on his campaign promise to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine in addition to more robust military aid overall. But on Tuesday Merz appeared to backtrack, saying his comments referred to “something that has been happening for months, namely, that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives, even beyond its own borders, against military targets on Russian territory.”
The U.S., France and the U.K. have all provided long-range missile systems to Ukraine, and last fall moved to allow Kyiv to use those weapons to strike targets inside Russia. Germany, however, has not provided long-range missiles to date, rendering talk of ending range restrictions from Berlin largely academic.