What impact could these missiles have on the course of the war? | DW News

Germany's Spiegel magazine says the German government in Berlin is open to sending German May Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine he's been asking for these missiles for months Chancellor Olaf Schultz has so far opposed sending longer range weapons to Ukraine if they are delivered the missiles would probably be modified to limit their range the Taurus cruise missile capable of hitting targets up to 500 kilometers away the long range capability of these missiles is the main advantage and the reason why Germany is hesitant to transfer them to Ukraine critics argue this could enable Kiev to attack Russian territory NATO countries have agreed that the alliance should not be drawn into this conflict both Washington and Berlin attach great importance to this therefore the key Point here is the range of the weapons we Supply with which one can attack targets not directly related to military operations in Ukraine German news Outlet Spiegel reports German defense minister Boris Pistorius is in talks with the manufacturer of the missiles the objective reprogramming the Torah system to limit its range and prevent Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory this could last weeks too long for critics in the main opposition party the Ukrainian aircrafts are in a very small number in a bad condition and there is no air superiority in the occupied areas for Ukraine and therefore it would help to send these missiles from several hundred kilometers abroad German Chancellor Olaf Schultz is known for his caution when it comes to delivering heavy arms to Ukraine and taking his time about making decisions Fabian Hoffman is a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo and a military expert I asked him earlier whether these missiles are what Ukraine needs most right now yeah absolutely so um it's it's another type of long-range Strike weapons that Ukraine has received um a bunch of over the last couple of months first from the United Kingdom which sent the Storm Shadow cruise missile and then from France which sent the same missile but which is known in Paris under the name of scalp Ichi um and and the thing is these missile systems they're very effective in targeting Russian positions logistical hops hops Transportation notes further behind the front line which is important for for Ukraine and the big thing about Taurus now is that it's simply another type of long-range strike weapon that can effectively attract Russian troops behind the front line now you mentioned long range and that seems to be what Germany's concerns are what do you make of Germany's concerns that have been holding up uh these missiles so far well yeah Taurus has a range of over 500 kilometers officially so we don't know the exact range over the last couple of days a range of around 700 kilometers was floated but this is difficult to confirm without access to classified information and the fear it seems within the the SPD and by some German politicians was that these missile systems could be used to not only strike targets Russian targets inside Ukraine but also to strike targets deep inside Russia potentially even extending into Moscow itself and that was a concern by Chancellor Olaf Schultz who stated that these weapon systems could be very escalatory in nature due to their ability to strike Russian Homeland targets and it seems to be that there has has been a sea change and Olaf Schultz has changed his position on the implications of the the weapon system and is now willing to provide Taurus missiles or long-range Strike weapons to Ukraine I'm trying to understand both the Tactical and strategic significance of a missile like this a long-range missile on one hand these are long-range weapons on the other hand we're seeing a kind of fighting that we haven't seen since World War one which is very up close and very personal and very deadly so how does a long-range weapon like this play into what the actual fighting on the ground we're seeing uh is yeah absolutely so the the big deal is that these weapon systems they can't have fat kind of effects not only at the Tactical level of warfare um as we call it so very close to the front line where troops and and firing squads out where they engage in in direct combat with each other but also extend further into the operational perhaps even strategic level of warfare um and that is for example where Commando posts are are stationed where you see ammunition deposed where you see logistical hubs and they of course are needed to coordinate and Supply the fighting that's happening directly on the front line so if you take out these critical operational level targets as we call them then that will have an effect on what's happening on the front line all right Fabian Hoffman from the University of Oslo thanks for those insights

Channel: DW News

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Length: 5min 48sec (348 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 11 2023