Gustav Gressel noted that it is time for Berlin to work on strategy.
German Taurus missiles would help Ukraine keep the Russian Black Sea Fleet at bay and protect the maritime “grain corridor.” Berlin has no convincing arguments for refusing supplies.
“Transportation (by sea – ) allows us to export significantly larger volumes than road or rail transport. This is extremely important for the Ukrainian economy during the war, since grain production remains a source of employment, tax revenue and foreign exchange,” said a senior researcher at the European Council on international relations Gustav Gressel in a commentary on TSN.
According to him, Taurus would be able to destroy targets in temporarily occupied territories thanks to their navigation system.
“The reasons given by the German Chancellor for not delivering the Taurus are not yet convincing: Ukraine requires geo-referencing for the navigation system to fire Taurus missiles. They are classified, and the argument has been made that they cannot be exchanged. But in fact, Ukraine is receiving classified German intelligence data, in in particular, satellite intelligence data. Therefore, there is already a protocol for data exchange that can be changed to cover these as well. After all, by providing only geodata for the occupied areas, Berlin could limit the use of these cruise missiles to them,” the expert explained.
At the same time, he pointed out that the words of the German Chancellor about the need for a Bundestag mandate to send military personnel abroad to help Ukraine integrate the missile into aircraft are not true. This issue should be dealt with by MBDA Germany.
“Other voices in the German defense community urge caution as the Taurus is Germany’s primary deep strike system targeting the Russian rear in a potential Article 5 event. Although Germany has acquired 75 JASSMs for the F-35, it is considered less reliable due to its dependence on GPS, and many prefer the Taurus,” said Gessel.
He also pointed out that, unlike other countries, Germany is not considering replacing the Taurus, and NATO defense plans include the use of large numbers of these missiles.
Taurus missiles for Ukraine – latest news
After new Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, demands were received for the supply of German Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv. Such a decision would allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to attack weapons depots and supply lines on Russian territory.
Germany said that Ukraine should not have hopes for quick deliveries of long-range Taurus missiles, because Berlin is not ready to change its position.
