Germany won't supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles, urges weapons makers to step up, defense minister says
Germany won't supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles, but will provide Kyiv with Patriot air defense systems purchased from the U.S., German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with the Financial Times released on July 13.
"Industry needs to ramp up its capacities. That applies to ammunition, to drones, to tanks — really to almost every area," Pistorius said.
On July 1, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the decision to supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine remained under consideration. Kyiv has long sought the long-range missile as Russia continues to wage its war.
Pistorius noted Germany no longer has enough Patriots to provide from its own stockpiles, adding that two are currently in Poland, and another is always used for training or under maintenance.
"We only have six left in Germany... That’s really too few, especially considering the NATO capability goals we have to meet. We definitely can’t give any more," he said.
Germany will not provide Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine either, Pistorius said.
The Taurus missile is capable of striking targets at a distance of 500 kilometers (300 miles) — a range greater than other long-range weapons Ukraine has received from allies.
Berlin is still ready to pursue a leading role in ensuring European security amid the threat Russia poses, he added.
"The British, the Americans and the French were in Germany to protect our eastern flank... today, Lithuania, the Baltic states, Poland are the eastern flank and we must make a contribution there," he said.
Pistorius urged the defense industry to ensure it can match the new pace of demand, adding that Germany needs to "get faster."
"The weakness in the past was always that replacements were only procured once the existing ones were practically gone or broken," he said.
"We need a system that renews itself through continuous deliveries over many years, so that the number of operational tanks always stays the same," Pistorius added.
Under a German-financed agreement, Ukraine will receive hundreds of domestically produced long-range weapon systems by the end of July, German Major General Christian Freuding said on July 11.
"We need weapons systems that can reach far into the depth of Russian territory — to hit depots, command centers, airfields and aircraft," he said, adding that Germany is "ready to provide such systems."
