British and German heads of government pledged military support on Wednesday “unshakeable” to Ukraine, but Olaf Scholz continues to refuse the delivery of long-range missiles to kyiv.
“We will continue to provide unwavering support to our Ukrainian friends for as long as it takes,” Rishi Sunak said at a press conference in Berlin with his German counterpart. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression “must end in failure”he added.
The German Chancellor saw the green light from the American Congress for the aid plan for Ukraine as a “encouraging signal” Who “shows that Putin is wrong if he believes that Europe and the United States will ever abandon Ukraine.” “It will not happen”, he insisted. At the same time, Olaf Scholz reiterated his refusal to deliver long-range (up to 500 km) Taurus missiles to kyiv, despite repeated requests from the Ukrainian authorities.
“Regarding this weapons system, my decision will not change”, replied Scholz dryly. He fears that kyiv will use them for strikes deep inside Russian territory and argues that this would require the involvement of German soldiers in support to allow the Ukrainians to use the missiles. This last point is contested and arouses controversy even within the German government coalition.
Ukrainian Head of State Volodymyr Zelensky said this week after speaking on the phone with his American counterpart Joe Biden that the two countries had made progress on the issue of the delivery of American long-range ATACMS missiles.
These advances are likely to further increase the pressure on Berlin regarding the Taurus. Germany has so far argued that it wants to position itself like the United States, particularly on arms deliveries, as was the case for tanks in the past. “At this dangerous time for the world, the UK and Germany stand together to maintain security and prosperity at home and on the continent”declared Rishi Sunak in Berlin.
“Germany and the United Kingdom are the two countries that spend the most on defense in Europe and were the first to provide support to Ukraine”Sunak said in Poland on Tuesday.
The two countries are discussing the “Euro Sky Shield” anti-missile shield project, launched by Germany and which Paris opposes. Berlin has already rallied around twenty countries in Europe (including the United Kingdom) to this initiative which will benefit from American (Patriot), Israeli (Arrow 3) and German (Iris-T) technologies but will not have any French-made equipment. . Paris has so far refused to be part of it, with French officials instead arguing in favor of an air defense system using European equipment.
