‘Don’t play Russian roulette’ on Ukraine – Scholz

The German chancellor has warned against sending long-range Taurus missiles to Kiev

Germany should not make hasty and reckless decisions on support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, especially with regard to long-range missiles, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.

Scholz made the remarks during an hour-long campaign speech on Saturday, as he lashed out at Friedrich Merz – the Christian Democratic Union’s candidate for chancellor in next year’s federal election – who has argued for supplying long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but on certain conditions.

Merz said that Germany should give Russia an ultimatum to stop striking targets in Ukraine, and if it does not comply, Berlin would lift the restrictions on the range of missiles, and then supply them to Kiev.

Scholz, who has repeatedly argued against sending Taurus missiles to Kiev for fear of Germany being drawn into the conflict, rejected the idea. “All I can say is: Be careful! You don’t play Russian roulette with Germany’s security,” he said, vowing to “remain steadfast and level-headed” in supporting Ukraine.

Read more

In mid-November, Scholz and Putin held their first phone call since late 2022, during which the chancellor “insisted on Russia’s readiness to negotiate with Ukraine in order to achieve a fair and lasting peace,” while stressing that Berlin is ready to support Kiev for “as long as necessary.” Putin reiterated that the conflict was a “direct result of NATO’s long-standing aggressive policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian bridgehead on Ukrainian territory.”

While Germany has long dragged its feet on supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles, the same has not been true of the US, UK, and France, which have provided Kiev with ATACMS and Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles. Last month, Washington granted permission to Ukraine to use US-made long-range missiles for strikes deep into Russia, with Moscow also reporting attacks with the use of Storm Shadows.

Ahead of the approval, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the move would mean direct NATO involvement and would change the nature of the conflict because Ukraine is not able to operate the missiles without targeting data from its Western backers.

After Ukraine launched several attacks deep into Russia, Moscow retaliated with a strike on a defense facility in Dnepr using the new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic missile.