The Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory over the past few nights show once again that equipping the Ukrainian Air Force with modern air defence systems is not enough to effectively repel incoming targets.
Although the interception rate for drones and cruise missiles remains relatively high, data published by the Ukrainian Air Force shows that Ukraine continues to have major problems when it comes to intercepting ballistic missiles.
For this reason, too, the Ukrainian Armed Forces must be given additional capabilities to destroy launch platforms, production facilities and other military targets as a preventative measure.
To this end, the new German government announced at the end of May that it would finance far-reaching weapon systems produced in Ukraine.
Exactly which systems are in question has not been officially announced. The only information released was that some of them are far-reaching drone systems, as announced by Major General Christian Freuding in mid-July.
According to research conducted by WELT, this involves more than 500 AN-196 Liutyi drones, which have been causing the Russian invaders considerable headaches for some time now. Estimated cost: around €100 million. However, the German government is also said to be secretly financing other Ukrainian-made weapon systems.
However, one thing has been left out so far: Taurus KEPD-350. While the then opposition politician Friedrich Merz made this one of the most important issues in his Ukraine policy and even issued an ultimatum to Russia’s leader Putin, he has been trying to bury the issue since coming to power.
Whether he merely exploited the issue for electoral purposes, was misinformed, or whether a delivery is currently being prepared in secret remains unclear. However, it is evident that there has been little discussion of this topic recently, even though Ukraine would continue to benefit from a delivery.
Although a Taurus delivery has become increasingly less essential in the last few months, thanks to its range and flight characteristics, as well as its bunker-busting warhead, there are still important high-value targets for which the Ukrainian army has few or no other weapon systems available.
In light of this, Ukraine appears to remain hopeful about a Taurus delivery. Since Friedrich Merz took office, the Ukrainian government has repeatedly announced that it is in talks with members of the German government about a possible delivery of the cruise missile.
This was also the case most recently on the 19th of August, when the Chairman of the Bundestag’s Defence Committee, Thomas Röwekamp, met with the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, in Ukraine.
According to official Ukrainian reports, the two discussed Germany’s future military support for Ukraine. In particular, they discussed the financing of Ukrainian-made drones, the delivery of additional air defence systems, Germany’s contribution to the procurement of US weapons via the PURL mechanism, and the delivery of Taurus KEPD-350.
According to Stefantschuk, the delivery of these cruise missiles is critical for deterring the aggressor. And what does the German government say about a possible delivery?
In response to a journalist’s question as to whether a Taurus delivery or the provision of other weapon systems that have not yet been delivered could be part of possible security guarantees for Ukraine, First Deputy Government Spokesperson Steffen Meyer announced at the government press conference on Wednesday that he is not aware of any such considerations.
Whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces will one day finally get their hands on the long-awaited cruise missile remains to be seen.
The only thing that is clear is that Ukraine continues to hope for a Taurus delivery and that talks are still being held about this behind closed doors.
Finally, I would like to thank John Felix, whose tip-off about the meeting between Röwekamp and Stefanchuk prompted me to write this article.
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