Ukraine can strike deep inside Russia using German weapons
Kiev should be able to 'effectively' defend itself against Russia, the chancellor told the EuropaForum event on Monday. The ability to only strike targets on its own territory is insufficient, Merz argued.
'We will do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine militarily,' the chancellor said. 'There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, neither from the British nor the French, nor from us, nor from the Americans.'
He did not elaborate on whether long-range Taurus missiles would be provided, which was a contentious topic under the previous government of Olaf Scholz. The former chancellor consistently opposed the idea, arguing that it would lead to a dangerous escalation of the conflict.
Taurus missiles have an operational range of 500km, meaning they could be used to attack targets deep inside Russian territory, potentially even reaching the nation's capital. Russia has repeatedly warned Germany that deliveries to Ukraine would make Berlin a direct participant in the conflict.
On Monday, Merz stated that Berlin is 'actively discussing' potential deliveries with London and Paris.
The Kremlin has called the German chancellor's latest statements 'dangerous.' Berlin's actions go against the attempts to settle the Ukraine conflict peacefully, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned. 'If such decisions have been made, they are contrary to our desire to find a political settlement, to all the efforts to resolve [the conflict],' he said.
The chancellor's statements come as Russia and Ukraine have engaged in direct peace talks for the first time in over three years after Kiev unilaterally withdrew from the negotiations in 2022.
Merz remains skeptical about a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin 'obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness,' he claimed on Monday, adding that 'we must prepare ourselves for this war to last longer than any of us could wish or imagine.'
Moscow has repeatedly stated it is open for peace talks but would prefer a lasting solution to the conflict to a temporary truce. The Istanbul talks took place after Putin suggested resuming peace process without preconditions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
13 hours ago
- Russia Today
Germany looks to reinvent warfare with spy cockroaches
Germany is heavily investing in futuristic warfare technologies, including surveillance cockroaches and AI-powered robots, as part of a sweeping rearmament plan, Reuters reported Wednesday. The outlet spoke to two dozen executives, investors, and policymakers to examine how the EU's largest economy aims to play a central role in the rearming of the continent. Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently announced plans to increase Germany's overall military budget to €153 billion ($180 billion) by 2029, up from €86 billion this year. He pledged to allocate 3.5% of GDP to defense under a new NATO framework to counter what he called a direct threat from Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Western concerns about Russian aggression as 'nonsense,' accusing NATO of using fear to justify increasing military budgets. According to Reuters sources, Merz's government views AI and start-up technology as critical to its plans. This week, the cabinet approved a draft procurement law designed to streamline the process for startups developing cutting-edge technologies, from tank-like robots and unmanned mini-submarines to surveillance cockroaches. The law aims to help such companies quickly contribute to the modernization of Germany's armed forces. Публикация от Cerebral Overload (@cbrovld) Startups like Munich-based Helsing, which specializes in AI and drone technology, alongside established defense contractors such as Rheinmetall and Hensoldt, are now leading Germany's military innovation, the article said. Critics of the German government's policies warn that continued military spending could strain the national budget and further damage the country's industry, already burdened by rising energy costs, the fallout from sanctions on Russia, and trade tensions with the US. Germany has been the second-largest arms supplier to Kiev since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, surpassed only by the US. Russia has consistently denounced Western weapons deliveries, saying they prolong the conflict and risk escalating tensions. Moscow has warned that Berlin's policies could lead to a new armed conflict with Russia, decades after the end of World War II.
Russia Today
15 hours ago
- Russia Today
Russiagate was America's other Pearl Harbor
US Senator Ted Cruz has compared the launch of the Trump-Russia investigation to the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, calling it a moment of 'infamy' in American political history. The Texas Republican made the remark on Fox News on Wednesday, accusing former President Barack Obama's administration of lying to the public and using federal agencies to undermine Donald Trump's presidency. 'December 9 should be a day that lives in infamy,' Cruz said, referencing the date in 2016 when the FBI opened its inquiry and the famous wording Franklin D. Roosevelt used in a speech following a surprise Japanese attack on the US naval base in Hawaii. 'That's a moment when senior members of our government decided to lie to the American people and sabotage President Donald Trump.' During a meeting on December 9, 2016, then President Obama ordered National Security Council officials to discard intelligence assessments that found no Russian involvement in Trump's campaign and replace them with claims blaming Moscow based on fabricated data, according to declassified documents released by US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard last week. Trump had defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the presidential election that November. The scandal led to the years-long Trump-Russia probe known as 'Russiagate'. It severely damaged relations between Moscow and Washington, leading to sanctions, asset seizures, and a breakdown in normal diplomacy. Russia has not yet commented on Gabbard's revelations. It has however consistently denied allegations that it interfered in the 2016 US election. The Kremlin has described the Russiagate affair as a politically motivated smear campaign intended to justify sanctions and worsen relations with Moscow.
Russia Today
16 hours ago
- Russia Today
Russia detains nine over calls to murder soldiers and families
Russian authorities have detained nine people accused of spreading terrorist propaganda for posting online threats to kill military personnel, law enforcement officers, and their relatives. The Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that the suspects, all Russian citizens, had published the content on social media and messaging platforms. The FSB said the individuals were arrested in Krasnodar, Astrakhan, Vladimir, Murmansk, Omsk, Kherson, and Yaroslavl regions, as well as the Jewish Autonomous Region. The security service published video footage it says shows officers carrying out the detentions. In the recordings, some of the suspects admitted to holding pro-Ukrainian views and to publishing messages that promoted violence against Russians. The FSB stated that investigators have launched criminal cases under the articles for propaganda of terrorism and public calls for extremist activity. The accused have been placed in pre-trial detention and could face up to seven years in prison if convicted. According to the security agency, Ukrainian intelligence services continue to seek out Russian nationals online for recruitment into acts of terrorism and subversion. 'The main targets are people with little legal knowledge who do not understand the gravity of the crimes they are committing,' the FSB said in the statement. The agency has urged the public to remain vigilant and avoid engaging in provocative online behavior, warning that criminal liability may follow such actions. The FSB frequently reports arrests of individuals allegedly recruited through social media and messaging apps to participate in Ukrainian sabotage and terror operations. These suspects are typically guided remotely and instructed to carry out specific tasks inside Russia. Earlier this week, the agency announced the arrest of a Russian national in Nizhny Novgorod Region who was allegedly attempting to retrieve an improvised explosive device from a hidden cache. The suspect had reportedly been acting on orders from Ukrainian intelligence handlers.
