German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday that he has not ruled out the possibility of supplying Ukraine with long-range Taurus cruise missiles.
“Of course it’s within the realm of possibility,” Merz told the German broadcaster ZDF.
At the same time, he noted that training Ukrainian soldiers to operate the missiles would take several months. According to Merz, delivering the weapons in six months or a year “won’t help Ukraine today.” He added that Germany’s main goal is to strengthen its military support for Kyiv in the immediate term.
Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz had previously rejected the idea of supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine, repeatedly stating that Germany would not authorize strikes deep inside Russian territory and had no plans to transfer the system. In November 2024, a significant share of the German public also opposed such deliveries.
Merz, who was elected chancellor in early May 2025, stated earlier that Germany would “do everything possible” to continue supporting Ukraine. On May 26, he said that Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States had lifted restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine (though Germany had not provided Kyiv with any long-range missiles).
Sign up for Meduza’s daily newsletter
A digest of Russia’s investigative reports and news analysis. If it matters, we summarize it.