Russia warned Thursday that Germany could be drawn into the Ukraine conflict if it supplies long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, as a new government prepares to take office in Berlin.
If Taurus missiles are used against infrastructure targets in Russia, "this will be considered direct participation by Germany in hostilities on the side of the Kyiv regime, with all the consequences that this entails for Germany," Zakharova asserted.
Friedrich Merz, the conservative politician and all-but-certain next German chancellor, should bear this in mind, Zakharova said, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
In a television interview, Merz had indicated that he was open to supplying the cruise missiles, which have a range of 500 kilometers, to Ukraine in consultation with European partners.
He also said that destroying the Russian bridge to the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea could benefit Ukraine. Taurus is considered a suitable weapon for this purpose.
Merz's government is set to be sworn in on May 6.
Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denied Ukraine's requests for the Taurus during his term in office.
At her weekly news conference, Zakharova also rejected the ideas put forward by Paris and London to improve Ukraine's security in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, including sending a European peacekeeping contingent. She called this an "insane plan."
