Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has attacked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his refusal to sell German-made Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
In an interview with European media, Zelenskyy speculated that Scholz’s hesitation stems from his wish to retain the weapons for Germany’s protection against a potential Russian threat.
According to Zelenskyy, the chancellor thinks that the Taurus missiles are Germany’s only and most formidable weapon since he represents a non-nuclear state. He is unable to leave his nation without such a potent weapon, according to messages traded between Zelenskyy and Scholz.
Zelenskyy claimed that the German government gives its citizens a different reason to believe they should not deliver the weapons.
Public remarks by Scholz have warned that sending Taurus missiles to Ukrainians may escalate the war and bring Germany into confrontation with Russia. As a result, Scholz has consistently rejected the idea.
Based on Scholz’s analysis, deploying the Taurus missiles necessitates the participation of German armed forces. He is hesitant to do so due to his concern that Germany may be seen as joining the war effort.
German Taurus missiles, which can travel 300 miles and contain a potent payload, are wanted by the Ukrainians to attack locations far from the frontlines, such as the Kerch Bridge that connects annexed Crimea to Russia.
The Ukrainian expressed his disbelief in Scholz’s rationale for seeing the Taurus missiles as a nuclear assault deterrent. If a nuclear conflict were to happen, no amount of missiles would be able to save anybody from nuclear attacks.
Scholz has presented an entirely different picture to the German people, painting himself as capable of delivering help to Ukraine without inadvertently inflaming the conflict. Because of this stance, he has been called a “peace chancellor” by his Social Democrat Party.
In addition to criticizing Germany’s hesitation to provide the missiles, Zelenskyy also criticized America’s delay in granting Ukrainian troops permission to utilize F-16 fighter planes and ATACMS missiles.