Britain ‘will support Germany sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine’ – Telegraph

The Taurus Missile is more powerful and has a longer range than the Atacms or Storm Shadow Missiles already provided by the US and UK to Ukraine.

The Taurus is also more complex.

The Telegraph writes: “The SPD’s Boris Pistorius, who is expected to remain defence minister in the new CDU-SPD coalition, has said the argument against sending Taurus missiles is also based on confidential national security reasons.”

So far, the German Government under Olaf Scholz was against sending the Taurus to Ukraine. The reason has not been fully disclosed but it is connected to the secret operation and target programming of the German missile.

The Taurus needs a specialist data center to complete its programming. Either the center and software is given to Ukraine, or German specialists need to be present on the ground and complete the programming. Or data can be prepared in Germany and sent to Ukraine.

Evidently, for security reasons, Germany does not want to transfer know-how and software to Ukraine.

As well, Ukraine needs to modify its Soviet era Mig jets or adapt the F-16 fighter jets which Ukraine has difficulties to use. All modifications, preparations of such jets need to be performed by German specialists.

But this means that German specialists or soldiers are not only involved in providing and modifying equipment, but must be involved in the most delicate activity of targeting and programming at the moment of combat – rightfully they can then be considered as taking part in an attack with the Taurus.

The Taurus has a range of 500 km and can hit Moscow and with precision the Kertsch-Bridge. Both attacks would represent an important escalation and Moscow knows that if the Taurus is used, it has been programmed and handled by Germans. For Russia, it is probably a red line. The Kremlin already suggested a probably conventional retaliation hit directly on Germany if the Taurus is used in the Ukraine conflict.

The UK may better not support the provision of the Taurus to Ukraine and therefore, provoke a retaliation by Russia.