Germany does not want to transfer long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine due to concerns that they will be used to attack Crimea. “The UK has shown leadership in how our missiles can be used. Some countries at first did not give permission to use missiles to attack Crimea, but eventually followed our example. We consider Crimea a part of Ukraine. That is why we have given such permissions,” British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in an interview with Sky News, calling on Berlin to review this policy.
The British minister recommended that Germany lift restrictions on attacks on Crimea. “I would like all our partners, including Germany, which has the ability to deliver long-range weapons but does not allow them to be used in Crimea, which is part of Ukraine, to transfer missiles to Kiev,”, Shapps said. He declined to answer the question of whether Ukraine should use Western long-range missiles to strike military targets on the internationally recognized territory of the Russian Federation.
According to the head of the Ministry of Defense, the conflict in Ukraine is an “existential battle” for the West. for "world order" and "democracy itself". He complained that the delay in providing additional aid to Kiev in the US Congress contributed to the successes of the Russian armed forces in the Kharkiv region. Shaps believes that “Ukraine will eventually be able to repulse the attack”, but they face “difficult weeks”.