Germany says it has not yet considered supplying its Taurus air-to-surface cruise missiles to embattled Ukraine because they are not urgently needed on the battlefield.
According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Thursday, Ukraine in May requested for the Taurus missiles which have a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles), but the government has so far rebuffed the request.
“We continue to believe that this is not our top priority right now,” Pistorius said, adding that concerns about sending “special range” missiles to Ukraine “are obvious”.
Currently Germany is the second-biggest supplier of military assistance to Kyiv after the United States.
German is actively helping Ukraine with “air defense, training support, engineering and armored vehicles”.
“This is our first priority, our core competency,” the minister said, adding that he saw “no urgent need for a decision” on the Swedish-German Taurus weapon system.
Berlin remains opposed to sending weapons to Kyiv that could reach inside nuclear-armed Russia, potentially widening the conflict.