Germany’s Merz under fire over ‘contradictory’ remarks on long-range weapons for Ukraine

BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wanted to use Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Berlin on Wednesday to project resolve in the face of Russia’s escalating war on Ukraine.

Instead, the chancellor is under fire from within his own ranks over unclear statements he made this week on whether Germany is prepared to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles that could strike deep into Russian territory. The previous left-leaning government rejected making that move so as not to provoke nuclear-armed Moscow.

Ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit, Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior conservative parliamentarian belonging to Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), sharply criticized the chancellor for making “contradictory statements” on the matter.

“There is no sign of Germany finally delivering Taurus cruise missiles, because I still see no unity in the coalition and no political will to respond appropriately and with strength and consistency to Russia's massive escalation,” Kiesewetter wrote in a post on X. “Such statements are therefore not helpful overall because they highlight Europe's weakness to Russia.”

The confusion around whether Germany is prepared to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine threatens to overshadow Zelenskyy’s visit to Berlin on Wednesday. As Russia continues to hammer Ukraine with killer drone and missile attacks, European leaders are under pressure to formulate a tough response.

But Merz's recent statements on long-range weapons for Ukraine have sown confusion.

The backlash against Merz began on Monday after he suggested Germany and its key allies had lifted range limits on weapons sent to Ukraine. “There are no more range limitations for weapons delivered to Ukraine. Neither from the Brits, nor the French, nor from us. Not from the Americans either,” Merz said.

The comments were widely interpreted to mean that Merz’s government was ready to make good on his campaign promise to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine in addition to more robust military aid overall. But on Tuesday Merz appeared to backtrack, saying his comments referred to “something that has been happening for months, namely, that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives, even beyond its own borders, against military targets on Russian territory.”

The U.S., France and the U.K. have all provided long-range missile systems to Ukraine, and last fall moved to allow Kyiv to use those weapons to strike targets inside Russia. Germany, however, has not provided long-range missiles to date, rendering talk of ending range restrictions from Berlin largely academic.

Following Merz's initial comments Monday, his finance minister, Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Lars Klingbeil, denied there had been a change in policy, opening the possibility of a rift on the issue between the coalition partners. “There is no new agreement that goes beyond what the previous government had in place,” Klingbeil told reporters.

Zelenskyy has long asked that Germany provide Taurus missiles, which have a range of over 500 kilometers and carry a powerful warhead. On Monday, Merz pledged Berlin would “do everything” to support Ukraine militarily, though it remains unclear whether the chancellor will make an announcement on Taurus missiles during Zelenskyy’s visit.

“Taurus could provide relief, at least in part, and thus protect the civilian population in Ukraine if the system were supplied in larger numbers,” Kiesewetter, the senior conservative lawmaker, wrote in his post on X. “A massive response against RUS is NEEDED NOW to maintain credibility.”