{"id":4527,"date":"2026-03-26T13:58:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=4527"},"modified":"2026-03-30T17:19:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:19:38","slug":"merz-rules-out-taurus-missiles-for-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/merz-rules-out-taurus-missiles-for-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Merz rules out Taurus missiles for Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kiev no longer needs the long-range weapons now that it can produce its own, the German chancellor has said<\/strong><\/p>\n

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has ruled out sending long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, arguing that Kiev no longer needs them after developing its own domestically produced weapons. Instead, he has called for more money to be sent to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Answering questions in parliament on Wednesday, Merz said the debate over Taurus missiles \u2013 which have a range of 500 km and can reach Moscow from Ukrainian territory \u2013 is no longer relevant due to Ukraine\u2019s progress in developing missiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Ukraine itself has long-range weapons in its depots, which it has built itself, partly with our help, and which are significantly more effective than the relatively small number of Taurus cruise missiles we could have delivered,\u201d<\/em> Merz told lawmakers.<\/p>\n

The chancellor noted that when he first advocated for sending the missiles while in the opposition, he assumed the armed forces had enough operational stockpiles to share. Since taking office last May, however, he has backed away from this.<\/p>\n

Merz argued that Kiev\u2019s main challenge now is financing, and called for more money to be sent to fund Ukraine\u2019s weapons production rather than providing more German systems. The chancellor previously pledged \u20ac11.5 billion ($13.2 billion) in military aid for Ukraine for 2026.<\/p>\n

His remarks come amid a broader shift in Western support. The US, once Ukraine\u2019s largest backer, has scaled back aid under President Donald Trump, with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth stating this month that weapons are now \u201cbetter spent in our own interests.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Ukraine's
Ukraine turns down US \u2018paradise\u2019 offer \u2013 media<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, a series of corruption scandals in Kiev, including a $100 million kickback scheme involving the state nuclear operator and a vote-buying ring among lawmakers, has fueled skepticism in Berlin and other European capitals.<\/p>\n

Last week, Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-chair Alice Weidel asked Merz at a parliamentary session whether the government intends to \u201ccontinue financing one of the world\u2019s most corrupt countries with billions to prolong a hopeless war.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

A recent US watchdog report found that $26 billion in USAID money sent to Ukraine lacked adequate oversight, with contractors failing to properly monitor the funds.<\/p>\n

Russia has warned against Western military and financial support for Ukraine, arguing that it only serves to prolong the conflict without altering the outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kiev no longer needs the long-range weapons now that it can produce its own, the German chancellor has said German […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4527"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4527"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4530,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4527\/revisions\/4530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}