Ukrainian diplomat urges Merz to immediately send 150 Taurus missiles to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Photo: future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Getty Images)
The future Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, must fulfill his election promise concerning Ukraine. He is to announce the delivery of 150 Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, Welt reports, referring to Ukrainian diplomat Andrii Melnyk.
"... to announce the immediate delivery of 150 Taurus cruise missiles in the Bundestag on May 6 and to quickly implement it. This election promise must be fulfilled, despite the expected resistance from the SPD," Melnyk emphasized.
The Ukrainian ambassador believes that no "coordination with partners" or ultimatums from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin are needed for transferring the missiles to Ukraine. Melnyk stated that the weapons simply need to be delivered without any "ifs" or "buts" in order to "stop Russia's creeping advance and fundamentally change the current dynamics of the war."
The Ukrainian diplomat also noted that for the effective use of the Taurus systems, it is necessary to make a coalition decision to transfer to Ukraine 30% of the existing German Air Force's fighters and helicopters. That is approximately 45 Eurofighter Typhoon and 30 Tornado fighter jets, 25 NH90 TTH helicopters, and 15 Eurocopter Tiger helicopters.
"This step could also be carried out within the framework of a comprehensive loan - a lend-lease law that could be passed by the Bundestag. The main thing is for the delivery to happen quickly," Melnyk added.
In his opinion, the same 30-percent rule could be applied to other weapon systems. Melnyk believes that Germany could transfer to Ukraine 100 Leopard 2 tanks, 115 Puma IFVs, 130 Marder IFVs, 130 Boxer armored transport vehicles, 300 Fuchs armored personnel carriers, and 20 MARS II multiple rocket launcher systems with ammunition.
"At the same time, it is necessary to place an order for the large-scale modernization of the Bundeswehr with the goal of quickly replacing the delivered weapon systems," the Ukrainian ambassador pointed out.
From December 2014 to October 2022, Andrii Melnyk was Ukraine's ambassador to Germany. Afterward, he held the position of Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine.
Since June 20, 2023, Melnyk has been Ukraine's ambassador to Brazil. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also approved Andrii Melnyk’s appointment as Ukraine's representative to the United Nations.
Taurus missiles for Ukraine
Discussions regarding the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine are still ongoing in Germany.
Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his party strongly oppose the transfer of these missiles to Ukraine, since in their view, this would lead to an escalation.
Friedrich Merz, whose party won the elections in Germany, stated that he is not against delivering the missiles to Ukraine. However, he wants this decision to be coordinated with other countries.
