South Korea to postpone Taurus maintenance due to Ukraine's supply of spare parts

South Korea will postpone maintenance of German Taurus missiles for five years because the manufacturer supplies the necessary spare parts to Ukraine. This was reported by the Yonhap news agency on Thursday, November 28.

"The Air Force (Air Force) is pushing ahead with a plan to implement basic maintenance of the Taurus KEPD 350K long-range air-to-ground missiles five years later <...> the manufacturer has treated it with disapproval due to instability with the supply of certain engine-related parts," the agency said in a piece.

Initially, the fulfillment of the agreement was to take place in 2025. The Republic of Korea purchased the Taurus missiles in 2015, and the agreement with their manufacturer, Germany's Taurus Systems, called for major maintenance every ten years.

Earlier in the day, South Korea reacted with restraint to Ukraine's request for arms sales. As noted, during the preparation of the visit's agenda, it became known that Ukraine had stated its desire to buy weapons rather than receive them for free from the South Korean government.

Russian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Georgy Zinoviev said on October 24 that the supply of lethal weapons from South Korea to Ukraine will not change the course of the special military operation, but will destroy the prospect of restoring relations between Moscow and Seoul.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision to conduct it was taken against the backdrop of an aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.