Intel briefings to enlighten new German chancellor on Ukraine missiles, says SPD
Friedrich Merz should not supply Taurus missiles to Kiev, the leader of the Social Democrats stated. According to Matthias Miersch, the head of the Social Democrats, classified briefings could influence Germany’s chancellor-designate Friedrich...
TroibNews 
Friedrich Merz should not supply Taurus missiles to Kiev, the leader of the Social Democrats stated.
According to Matthias Miersch, the head of the Social Democrats, classified briefings could influence Germany’s chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz regarding the provision of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
While the SPD was part of the ruling coalition, Berlin had ruled out sending the long-range weapon system, which boasts a range of 500 kilometers. The party faced a historic defeat to Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union in the February election. Currently, the conservatives and Social Democrats are in discussions to form a new government.
During an interview with the news channel n-tv on Wednesday, Miersch criticized Merz’s willingness to supply the Taurus and risk an open confrontation with Russia.
“We have always been against it,” Miersch said. “I assume that Friedrich Merz, once fully informed by [intelligence] agencies, will reassess the issue clearly. We will then make the decision together,” he added.
“I assume that we do not want to contribute to an escalation or become a party to the war – the very reason we chose not to deliver the Taurus [to Ukraine]. And I assume it will remain that way,” Miersch stated.
In a related note, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, also a member of the SPD, commented earlier that there are “many good arguments” against sending the missiles, some of which cannot be discussed publicly.
On Sunday, Merz confirmed his desire to supply the Taurus to Kiev. “Yes, that was exactly what I meant – not that we would intervene in the war ourselves, but that we would be equipping the Ukrainian army with such a weapon,” he said. He suggested that Kiev could use the missile to target the long bridge connecting Crimea with mainland Russia. Roderich Kiesewetter, the CDU’s defense spokesman, contended that the Taurus would assist Ukraine in “destroying Russian supply lines and command bunkers.”
This missile debate is taking place amid US President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a Russian-Ukrainian ceasefire through shuttle diplomacy.
Moscow has issued warnings that no amount of Western arms deliveries will deter its troops and that such actions would likely escalate the conflict. The Taurus would “not bring any changes to the battlefield,” stated Russia’s ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechayev, on Wednesday.
However, the deliveries would result in Germany being directly involved in the conflict, as “Ukrainian soldiers … cannot operate the long-range weapon” without assistance from Berlin, Nechayev added.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
According to Matthias Miersch, the head of the Social Democrats, classified briefings could influence Germany’s chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz regarding the provision of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
While the SPD was part of the ruling coalition, Berlin had ruled out sending the long-range weapon system, which boasts a range of 500 kilometers. The party faced a historic defeat to Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union in the February election. Currently, the conservatives and Social Democrats are in discussions to form a new government.
During an interview with the news channel n-tv on Wednesday, Miersch criticized Merz’s willingness to supply the Taurus and risk an open confrontation with Russia.
“We have always been against it,” Miersch said. “I assume that Friedrich Merz, once fully informed by [intelligence] agencies, will reassess the issue clearly. We will then make the decision together,” he added.
“I assume that we do not want to contribute to an escalation or become a party to the war – the very reason we chose not to deliver the Taurus [to Ukraine]. And I assume it will remain that way,” Miersch stated.
In a related note, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, also a member of the SPD, commented earlier that there are “many good arguments” against sending the missiles, some of which cannot be discussed publicly.
On Sunday, Merz confirmed his desire to supply the Taurus to Kiev. “Yes, that was exactly what I meant – not that we would intervene in the war ourselves, but that we would be equipping the Ukrainian army with such a weapon,” he said. He suggested that Kiev could use the missile to target the long bridge connecting Crimea with mainland Russia. Roderich Kiesewetter, the CDU’s defense spokesman, contended that the Taurus would assist Ukraine in “destroying Russian supply lines and command bunkers.”
This missile debate is taking place amid US President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a Russian-Ukrainian ceasefire through shuttle diplomacy.
Moscow has issued warnings that no amount of Western arms deliveries will deter its troops and that such actions would likely escalate the conflict. The Taurus would “not bring any changes to the battlefield,” stated Russia’s ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechayev, on Wednesday.
However, the deliveries would result in Germany being directly involved in the conflict, as “Ukrainian soldiers … cannot operate the long-range weapon” without assistance from Berlin, Nechayev added.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
