To disrupt the supply lines of Russian forces, Ukraine has requested long-range missiles from its Western partners, such as the MGM-140 ATACMS [Army Tactical Missile System], which the US M142 HIMARS artillery system can fire. If we could attack at a distance of up to 300 kilometers, the Russian army would not be able to defend itself and would lose,” explains Oleksii Reznikov, Ukrainian Defense Minister.
Although the United States has rejected such a request, in order to prevent this capability from being used to attack Russian territory and provoke an escalation (a risk that is not non-existent, as the recent incursion of Russian auxiliaries into the Ukrainian army in the Belgorod region demonstrates), the UK has agreed to supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
These weapons systems will give Ukraine the best chance of defending itself against Russia’s continued brutality,” explained Ben Wallace, UK Defense Secretary, announcing the delivery of these Storm Shadows to Kyiv on May 11.
Since then, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has hinted that Su-24MR jets, initially dedicated to reconnaissance missions, have been modified to fire such missiles. And there is no doubt that the Su-27 Flanker will also be modified.
It is also likely that Ukraine has asked France to supply SCALP EG… But it has certainly done so with Germany, with a view to obtaining KEPD-350 “Taurus” cruise missiles. This is what Boris Pistorius, German Defense Minister, declared on May 27.
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the issue with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to Berlin earlier this month. On that occasion, he managed to get another €2.7 billion in military aid released [including an additional 30 Leopard 1A5 tanks, some 100 armored vehicles including 20 Marders, 200 drones, 4 IRIS-T SLM air defense systems and 18 howitzers wheels].
“In recent days, we have received a request from the Ukrainian side [of KEPD-350 Taurus],” a spokesman for the German Defense Ministry confirmed without elaborating.
However, CDU deputy Roderich Kiesewetter, a former Bundeswehr colonel, defended the idea of delivering such missiles to Ukraine in an interview published by RND on 23 May.
“Ten years ago, about 600 units were purchased for the Bundeswehr, of which about 150 are still in operation today. It makes much more sense to use these weapons in Ukraine than to store them here,” argued Kiesewetter, who is also a member of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee. These missiles “will make it possible to strike Russian military infrastructure far behind the front line,” he added, before calling for Ukraine to be supplied with “everything it can use in battle” in accordance with international law.
According to available technical data, the KEPD-350 Taurus can carry a Mephisto [Multi-Effect Penetrator, HIgh Sophisticated and Target Optimized] payload of 495 kg over a distance of more than 500 km at a maximum speed of Mach 0.95. The Bundeswehr received their order in full in 2010… And four years later, there was talk of modernizing 75 of them a year until 2020 [i.e., 300 copies in total].
It is not yet known whether the German government will authorize the delivery of the KEPD-350 Taurus to Ukraine… Especially since Germany is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime, which limits this type of missile exports.
Created in 1987, the MTCR is not based on a legally binding treaty. However, it is politically binding on the participating States, whose decisions must be taken by consensus. Its directives refer to teams of two categories.
The first, in which “great caution must be exercised”, covers “complete rocket systems [including ballistic missiles, space launchers and sounding rockets] and unmanned aerial vehicles [including cruise missiles and targeting and reconnaissance vehicles] with a maximum capacity equal to or greater than 300 km/500 kg’. The second covers missiles with a maximum range equal to or greater than 300 km.
