Germany still refuses to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Chancellor Scholz says

"Germany has long been one of Ukraine's biggest supporters. And in this war, we need to think carefully about how to act sensibly," Scholz said.

However, he emphasized that Germany "won't do certain things."

"For example, delivering cruise missiles, or agreeing that the lethal weapons we supplied can be used to attack targets deep within Russia. I believe this is a course of action that the majority of citizens support," Scholz added.

Debate over providing Taurus missiles to Ukraine

The discussion about potentially providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles resurfaced after the United States allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles for strikes on targets within Russia.

The leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in Germany, Christian Dürr, announced on Nov. 16 that the issue of providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles could be put to a vote in the Bundestag.

The Minister of Economy and Vice-Chancellor of Germany, candidate for Chancellor from the Alliance 90/The Greens coalition, Robert Habeck, promised on Nov. 18 to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles if he is elected to replace the current Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

That same day, the Deputy Government Spokesperson of Germany, Wolfgang Büchner, informed the public that Scholz's position on providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles remains unchanged, even after the U.S. allowed Kyiv to conduct long-range strikes into Russia using ATACMS missiles.

According to a survey conducted by Infratest dimap for the ARD television channel, the majority of Germans do not support providing Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.