The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has once again put Germany’s military policies under the spotlight, stirring controversy between Moscow and Berlin.
Recently, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made remarks about lifting restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine, sparking a sharp reaction from the Kremlin.
Kremlin Calls Germany’s Statement a Provocation
Dmitry Peskov, the official spokesman for the Kremlin, didn’t hold back.
He described Merz’s comments as a direct provocation that could escalate the war further.
According to Peskov, removing limits on weapon ranges only fuels the fighting and blocks any path toward peace talks.
“It’s nothing but further attempts to push Ukrainians to keep fighting,” Peskov said, emphasizing how these actions undermine efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully.
What Germany and Its Allies Have Said
On May 26, Chancellor Merz announced that Germany, along with the UK, France, and the US, no longer enforce restrictions on the range of weapons provided to Ukraine.
The following day, he revealed that this decision had actually been settled months earlier.
However, there seems to be some mixed messaging. German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil clarified that Berlin’s official stance on long-range missiles hasn’t changed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department also declined to confirm whether restrictions were lifted.
Interestingly, out of the countries Merz mentioned, Germany is the only one that hasn’t yet supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine.
Germany does, however, have these weapons in its arsenal — specifically the Taurus missile system.
Moscow’s Warning and Potential Retaliation
Tensions escalated further when Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russia Today and the RT channel, suggested that if German weapons were used to strike Moscow, Russia might respond by targeting Berlin.
Simonyan shared on her Telegram channel that if German forces launch attacks on Moscow using German technology, Russia would feel forced to retaliate in kind.
She also suggested that German military experts would likely have to operate the Taurus missiles themselves, as Ukrainian troops reportedly aren’t trained to use them.
What You Need to Know About the Taurus Missile
The Taurus KEPD-350 is a highly advanced air-launched cruise missile developed through a German-Swedish collaboration.
It’s produced by Taurus Systems GmbH, a joint venture between Germany’s MBDA Deutschland and Sweden’s Saab Bofors Dynamics.
The missile’s development dates back to the late 1990s when Germany aimed to create a powerful system to enhance its long-range strike capabilities after previous attempts to acquire French Apache missiles didn’t pan out.
Today, the Taurus missile is part of Germany’s military inventory and is also used by Spain and South Korea.