German finance chief says he supports sending long-range missiles to the country and signals that discussion of the issue within the governing coalition should be faster. “Ukraine cannot lose this war.”
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is in Kiev on Monday (14/08) – on his first trip to the Ukrainian capital since the start of the Russian invasion.
After arriving early in the morning, he said he intends to hold “very concrete” talks with the Ukrainian authorities on how the German finance ministry can support Ukraine now and in the future. “We stand by Ukraine,” Lindner told journalists as he disembarked from the train in Kiev.
Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Germany has provided Ukraine with some 22 billion euros in humanitarian, financial and military aid, said the minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP), a political force in the coalition government led by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The amount includes, in addition to €12 billion in military aid, costs for the reception and accommodation of refugees from Ukraine.
Pressure for Taurus missiles
Christian Lindner’s visit comes as Germany is coming under increasing pressure from Kiev to send long-range Taurus missiles to support the Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian troops. Berlin has so far opposed the request, fearing the missiles could hit Russian territory and escalate the conflict.
Lindner, however, was in favor of sending the weapons during his stay in Kiev. The Liberal Democrat argued that the country’s resilience must be greater than the viciousness emanating from Vladimir Putin’s war, and that the German government must therefore do its utmost to strengthen the country’s military capacity.
“This is about the future of the European order of peace and freedom. Germany will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. Ukraine must not lose this war,” the German minister stressed.
“I hope that the question [of sending the missiles] will be clarified soon, because I know that many, like me, are sympathetic to this kind of support,” he told journalists.
He stressed that the issue still needs to be discussed within the governing coalition, but that the decision should be taken more quickly this time.
On Friday, the weekly Der Spiegel reported that Germany would be evaluating the possibility of sending such weapons to Ukraine, provided their range is reprogrammed so that they cannot be used against Russian territory.
The German Defense Ministry and representatives of the companies that manufacture this equipment have been in contact to study the possibility of reprogramming these air-to-ground cruise missiles – with a range of more than 500 kilometers – in order to limit their range, according to the German publication.
Industry sources admit that such a modification is possible, but point out that the process would take several weeks. According to Spiegel, Olaf Scholz will only approve sending the missiles to Kiev when he is convinced that such reprogramming is feasible. On Sunday, in an interview with German TV channel ZDF, the chancellor stated that the government evaluates every such decision very carefully.
Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, said the Taurus missiles are “crucial” for Ukraine’s counter-offensive. To try to allay German concerns about the range of these weapons, Podoliak also said that they would be used “exclusively on the territory of Ukraine, within the internationally recognized borders of 1991”.
Cooperation
While in Kiev, Lindner met with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov and Ukrainian soldiers trained to operate the German Iris-T air defense system.
The German Finance Ministry also reported on the signing of a letter of intent to intensify cooperation in the areas of financial markets, customs issues and public and private investment management.
Lindner also assured Ukraine of support for Germany’s upcoming budget exercises. “We want to make our contribution so that Ukraine has a prosperous future – especially when this terrible war is won by Ukraine, which I hope will be soon.”
md/ra (AFP, DPA, Lusa, ots)