Taurus missiles could become game changer for Ukraine – ex-Bundeswehr general
Bundeswehr Brigadier General (Retired) Klaus Wittmann said this in a comment to Ukrinform.
"Missiles are a weapon that is of critical importance because Ukraine must destroy the enemy's logistics, including the Crimea Bridge," the military expert noted.
For now, the main thing is to stop the Russian offensive; the British StormShadow and the French Scalp are very helpful to this end, but there are few of them in service with Ukraine’s Armed Forces and they have a shorter range than the German Taurus, the general added.
If any weapon can stop Russia’s offensive, it is already a game changer on a regional scale. But, of course, this is not something that will immediately stop the war, the expert admitted, adding that "every day, together with others,” he fights for the German government to decide on the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Wittmann hopes that Chancellor Olaf Scholz, despite his recent statement admitting reluctance to donate Taurus missiles to Ukraine, will eventually change his mind. After all, it took the chancellor "three quarters of a year" after his historic speech in the Bundestag late February 2022 to make a positive decision about sending battle tanks to Ukraine. The Taurus debate has been going on for just as long, "so it's about time," the general noted.
He added that Ukraine had proven it used longer-range weapons responsibly with pinpoint strikes on targets in Russia, while other controversial counterarguments, such as the potential need to put Bundeswehr soldiers on the ground for missile programming, are wrong.
"This is purely a matter of political will. But the chancellor does not want this, and speculation about his true motives negates his clear statements about the importance of military support for Ukraine; his actions seem half-hearted," the expert emphasized.
Wittmann suggested that Scholz actually takes Putin's threats seriously. "But the weakness on the part the West will not slow down Putin's aggressiveness but do the opposite. Putin must be stopped in Ukraine," the general emphasized.
He noted that Western partners, in particular Germany, should have provided Ukraine with much more equipment, primarily armored vehicles of various types, and much earlier. Germany's sluggishness meant that the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not have enough armored fighting vehicles to build on the successes of their counteroffensive near Kharkiv and Kherson in the fall of 2022.
The expert also commented on the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Avdiivka. According to him, these positions had to be abandoned in order to save soldiers’ lives. Russian losses there were very substantial and in this regard, Avdiivka fulfilled its important role. Currently, the Ukrainian Army is settling in new positions.
"From a military point of view, it's normal, it's 'mobile defense,'" the former brigadier general noted. He hopes that the Armed Forces will get reinforcements, including ammunition, air defense capabilities, armored vehicles, etc., in order to regain the initiative again in two to three months.
"Whether it will be successful depends solely on Western partners, who have no right to forget that this war is also being waged in their interest," the expert emphasized.
He is convinced that in the event of a decrease in American aid, Europe should replace this partner for Ukraine. The EU, with its 450 million population, which is three times larger than Russia’s, and a much more powerful economy, has the opportunity to do this.
"Democracies cannot launch their military industrial machine as quickly as totalitarian regimes but they can do quite a lot," the German expert assured.
As reported earlier, despite mounting pressure, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again spoke out against the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, explaining this by fears of drawing Germany into a direct military confrontation with Russia.
