Germany’s long-range Taurus missiles are a potent weapon that could make Ukrainian lives easier

He confirmed Ukraine still hopes for Germany to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

"Taurus would undoubtedly make our lives easier,” he said.

“For striking command centers, for hitting some very important targets — it's an excellent weapon."

In response to a question from a German journalist about whether Ukraine can rely on Germany, he replied "with a poker face," posing a counter-question.

"Can we rely on your country? I hope so," he said.

Budanov confirmed that the Crimean Bridge remains a significant target for Ukrainian forces.

"The bridge is heavily guarded and defended,” he said.

“But everyone is working on this issue."

The issue of supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine — what's known

Ukraine is asking its partners for long-range weapons to be able to strike targets deep inside Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territory. Some countries have already taken this step: the UK and France have transferred Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Germany, which has about 600 Taurus cruise missiles, has demurred.

Berlin is not refusing to provide Taurus to Ukraine, but isn’t ready to do so at that moment, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in September 2023.

The reason could be the wavering of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has expressed concerns that Kyiv could use the weapons to attack Russian territory. He is also concerned that the move could lead to “escalation” of the war.

Ukraine has repeatedly said that it will not use Western long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.

The German parliament twice failed to support a call to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Only 178 out of 666 deputies voted in favor of such a decision on Jan. 17.

The German parliament voted to supply Ukraine with "long-range weapons" on Feb. 22, but did not specifically mention Taurus on Feb. 22.

Long-range Taurus missiles could not tip the war in favor of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the head of the special task force on Ukraine at the German Defense Ministry, Christian Freudig, stated on Feb. 5.

Scholz is not afraid of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, commenting on the issue of providing Taurus missiles to Ukraine, said on March 29.