Former President of Germany (2012-2017) Joachim Gauck spoke out in favor of the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. “I have discussed this with military experts and I support the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles,”, Gauck said in an interview with the Funke media group.
When asked whether military targets can be struck on Russian territory, the former German president answered in the affirmative.
In an interview with the newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung Gauck noted that he does not believe that Ukraine will achieve its military goals. “I am realistic enough to imagine that the Ukrainian government will not achieve all of its goals. But I refuse to make any proposals to Ukraine. I would find that arrogant,” he said. The government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, according to the former German president, “must determine for themselves when their forces are so exhausted that they will not be able to achieve all their goals”.
On September 20, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz again rejected the possibility of transferring Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev, the flight range of which is about 500 km. The head of the German government has repeatedly stated that the delivery of such weapons systems would lead to a “serious risk of escalation”. Kiev has been asking Berlin for "Taurus" missiles for a long time. They are considered an analogue of the British Storm Shadow, which have already been delivered to Ukraine. However, the range of German-Swedish missiles is greater.