Germany is considering a proposal from the United Kingdom to swap cruise missiles, in a move that could potentially allow Berlin to provide Ukraine with more powerful weapons while addressing its concerns about escalating the conflict with Russia.
Philipp Hayer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kyiv has been urging Berlin to supply its Taurus cruise missiles, which have a longer range and can strike targets deeper within Russian-occupied territory than the weapons Germany has provided so far. However, the German government has been hesitant, fearing that such a move could provoke a wider response from Russia.
According to a report in the German newspaper Handelsblatt, which cited government and diplomatic sources, the British government has suggested that it could export Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine in exchange for receiving the German Taurus missiles.
The report said that the office of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is currently analyzing the proposal, and that a person familiar with the negotiations believes it could find support in Berlin.
The German government has declined to comment on the report, but a spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence said that the UK and its partners, including Germany, continue to work together to provide Ukraine with the best possible equipment to defend its territory.
The proposal comes as Western countries are under increasing pressure to provide Ukraine with more advanced weapons to help it counter Russia’s offensive in the eastern Donbas region. However, there are also concerns that supplying Ukraine with weapons that could strike targets deep inside Russia could lead to an escalation of the conflict.
The potential missile swap deal could be a way for Germany to address these concerns while still providing Ukraine with more powerful weapons. The Storm Shadow missiles have a shorter range than the Taurus missiles, and they are not designed to strike targets in Russia.
However, it is unclear whether Russia would view the swap as a way to de-escalate the conflict. Some experts believe that Moscow would likely see any supply of Western weapons to Ukraine as a provocation, regardless of the specific type of weapon.
The German government is likely to weigh the potential risks and benefits of the swap proposal carefully before making a decision. The decision could have a significant impact on the course of the war in Ukraine.
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