German opposition leader Merz promised to give Taurus to Ukraine if elected

Friedrich Merz, a candidate for chancellor of Germany and head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, said on December 10 that if he wins the election, he will decide on the supply of long-range missiles to Kiev in coordination with the United States.

"I am in favor of answering these questions [about the supply of long-range Taurus missiles] together with the Americans. Not alone, not in Germany, but together with Europe and America," he said in an interview with the Bild newspaper.

At the same time, Merz added that if we start training the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) fighters to work with Taurus now, it will take at least four months, and by then President-elect Donald Trump will already be in power in the United States.

Peaceful entreaties: why Scholz went to Kiev for the first time in two and a half years

The German chancellor convinces his voter that Germany is becoming a serious player under his leadership

Earlier, on December 9, Merz arrived on an unannounced visit to Kiev. He said he came to demonstrate that his party's parliamentary group strongly supports Ukraine. A week ago , incumbent German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also came to Kiev.

Prior to that, on Nov. 12, Merz said that if elected, he might issue an ultimatum to Russia and lift restrictions on the use of cruise missiles transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). However, he later retracted his words on December 3 about an ultimatum to supply Kiev with Taurus missiles and strike Russia with long-range weapons. Then, on November 30, German Chancellor Scholz criticized Merz and stressed that it was not worth playing Russian roulette with Germany's security through Russian Federation ultimatums.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.