Taurus Missiles Could Now Reach Moscow as West Removes Striking Limits

On May 26, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany, along with the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, has lifted all range restrictions on weapons being supplied to Ukraine.

Photo: dvidshub.net by Дин Джонсон, https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/pdm/

HIMARS MLRS missile launch

"There are no longer any range limitations on the weapons supplied to Ukraine. Not from the British, not from the French, not from us-and not from the Americans either," Friedrich Merz said.

Merz stated that this change effectively means Ukraine is now permitted to defend itself by striking, for example, military targets within Russian territory. He justified the decision by arguing that "a country which can only resist an aggressor on its own territory is not truly defending itself." He further emphasized that Germany will continue doing everything in its power to support Ukraine militarily.

However, the chancellor did not clarify whether Germany would provide Ukraine with its long-range Taurus cruise missiles. As Der Spiegel highlights, up until now, Berlin has refrained from supplying Ukraine with weapons that have a range greater than 70 kilometers. As recently as May 16, Merz had stated that Germany had "no plans at this time" to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, citing the lengthy training required for Ukrainian forces to operate the system. He also made clear he did not intend to discuss such matters publicly.

Taurus Missiles Could Reach Moscow

Ukraine already possesses and is deploying other long-range Western missiles, such as the American ATACMS and the British Storm Shadow, both with a range of about 300 kilometers. Full-performance versions of the Storm Shadow and its French counterpart, the SCALP-EG, can strike targets up to 560 kilometers away-but Ukraine has not previously received these extended-range variants.

With the lifting of range restrictions, Ukraine could now receive weapons capable of reaching deeper into Central Russia cities, such as:

• Smolensk,
• Kaluga,
• Bryansk,
• Oryol.

Should Taurus missiles be supplied and launched from Ukraine's border regions, even Moscow could be within reach. It's also noted that Ukraine may employ drones such as the Tekever AR3, which has a range of up to 1,000 kilometers.

Kremlin: A Dangerous and Destabilizing Move

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the decision by Western nations as a "highly dangerous" development-if, in fact, such a decision has been finalized.

"This move potentially contradicts our efforts toward a political resolution,” Dmitry Peskov said.

Russian Senator Grigory Karasin called the move "a grim and dismal signal for peace talks.” He noted that while the West has long been moving in the direction of lifting range restrictions, their reluctance to further sour relations with Moscow had always held them back-until now. State Duma Deputy Mikhail Sheremet went further, calling the decision "madness” and warning that it forces Russia to "expand its buffer zone along its borders.”

A Strategic Response to Russian Military Progress

According to State Duma Defense Committee Chairman Andrey Kartapolov, the West's decision stems from the successful advances made by Russian forces in the ongoing conflict.

Political analyst and German affairs expert Alexander Kamkin interpreted the move as a Western attempt to derail any budding peace process:

"The Europeans are desperate to prolong the conflict in Ukraine. They're doing everything they can to sabotage what is, for now, a faint glimmer of a negotiating track between the U.S. and Russia regarding Ukraine. Their anger at Trump is palpable-especially after he essentially seized control of Ukraine's mineral assets from under their noses.”

Meanwhile, Duma Deputy Yuri Shvytkin expressed confidence in Russia's air defense capabilities, asserting they are more than capable of countering even the longest-range missiles.

"Our nation's air defense systems are fully equipped to establish effective protection. At the same time, I firmly believe the UN must take all necessary measures to prevent Ukraine's military from being armed with such systems,” Yuri Shvytkin said.

Details

The Taurus KEPD-350 is a German-Swedish air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by Taurus Systems and used by Germany, Spain, and South Korea. Taurus Systems GmbH is a partnership between MBDA Deutschland GmbH (formerly LFK) and Saab Bofors Dynamics.