MOSCOW, February 25 Ukraine has neither carriers nor appropriate infrastructure for the use of German Taurus cruise missiles, Ivan Timochko, Chairman of the Council of Reservists of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said on Sunday.
“Even these Taurus need to be launched from somewhere. Unfortunately, it is impossible to quickly unify them with the launchers that Ukraine has,” Tymochko said on the Rada TV channel.
At the same time, he noted that it is technically possible to launch these missiles from Swedish Gripen fighters. However, if these aircraft are transferred to Ukraine, he argues, it will be necessary to prepare flight crews and ground services, which will require a lot of time and approvals.
In January, the German publication Handelsblatt reported, citing senior diplomats and government officials, that Britain had offered to sell Germany Taurus cruise missiles so that London could supply more Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. Later, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that he knew nothing about this proposal.
Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine interfere with the settlement, directly involve NATO countries in the conflict and are “playing with fire.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. According to him, the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict, including not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel in Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and other countries. The Kremlin stated that pumping Ukraine up with weapons from the West does not contribute to negotiations and will have a negative effect.