German politicians urge Chancellor Merz to support Taurus missile deliveries to Ukraine

Pressure is mounting within Germany's ruling CDU/CSU bloc on party leader Friedrich Merz to support the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian forces to operate them.

As reported by n-tv, a German news channel, CDU foreign policy spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter stated that "it is high time to finally train [Ukrainian] personnel to use Taurus and deliver the system".

He said that Taurus missiles can partially ease the situation and help protect the civilian population in Ukraine if delivered in greater numbers.

Similar views were expressed by CDU politician Thomas Röwekamp, Chair of the Bundestag's Defence Committee. He noted that Chancellor Merz, by dropping the flight range restriction, had "removed one argument that previously stood in the way of supplying Taurus". While this was not yet a commitment to deliver the missiles, it had eliminated the justification for Germany's prior refusal.

However, Kiesewetter pointed out that Germany had not yet supplied any long-range weapon systems, meaning Merz's statement had no practical consequences for Ukraine and was "factually irrelevant for Germany".

Anton Hofreiter, a politician from the Green Party, also came out in favour of supplying Taurus missiles. "Merz's statement is nothing more than a smokescreen unless he delivers the Taurus cruise missiles," he said in an interview with Rheinische Post, arguing that only Taurus missiles can strike key Russian military hubs in the border region.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz "is obliged to increase pressure on Putin and provide consistent civil and military support to Ukraine," said Deborah Düring, foreign policy spokeswoman for the Greens' parliamentary group, in an interview with Tagesspiegel.

"As an opposition politician, Merz demanded the delivery of Taurus. Now is the time: just do it and show that your words are followed by concrete actions, Mr Merz!" she added.

Düring also harshly criticised the former coalition partner, the SPD. "It's astonishing how much the SPD is once again stalling support for Ukraine," she said. She argued that the "indecision and hesitation" of SPD leader Lars Klingbeil showed that former Chancellor Olaf Scholz was not the only problem. "Klingbeil's position is dangerously naive," Düring stated.

Meanwhile, Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, is calling for a referendum on the future direction of the federal government.

On 26 May, Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that weapons supplied by Germany to Ukraine were no longer subject to range restrictions and, therefore, could be used against targets on Russian territory. He said that the US, UK, France and Germany had lifted restrictions on long-range Ukrainian strikes against Russia several months ago.

German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil responded that there had been no new agreements within the government coalition regarding changes to the policy on Ukraine's ability to strike Russian territory.