Russian aggression has been targeting the civilian population of Ukraine for more than 18 months – the enemy has been attacking civil targets and killing civilians in Ukrainian settlements. In such conditions, the response in the form of strikes on military targets on Russian soil is obvious — Ukraine has the right to do this in order to save the lives of its own population. But Ukraine still has no required weapons systems to this end.
This problem can be solved by providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles, designed for high-precision strikes and destruction of highly protected targets, without the missile carrier aircraft needing to fly into the enemy’s air defense zone.
The President of the European People’s Party, the key inter-party association in the EU, Manfred Weber, considers the provision of German long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine long overdue. Also in support of providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles previously spoke defense speaker Sarah Nanni of the Greens and foreign policy expert from the opposition’s Christian Democratic Union, former Bundeswehr Colonel Roderich Kiesewetter.
With the help of Taurus missiles, the Ukrainian Defense Forces will be able to effectively hit Russian military targets and disrupt enemy logistics, which will allow Ukraine to gain an advantage on the battlefield and avoid the long war. This long war between Russia and Ukraine, if not prevented, would not only lead to more civilian casualties but may also contribute to Russia intensifying aggression.
Now Russia has significantly increased the capacity of its defense industry and also continues active cooperation with other “evil cells” — North Korea and Iran. If Russia moves at the current pace, it will be able to use the time to recuperate and escalate later. So every day of delay in providing the weapons necessary for Ukraine is a great privilege for Russia.
The year 2024 may bring along many “black swans” that could play out against Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Now Russia has intensified its aggressive verbal attacks toward Moldova and the Baltic States, threatening them with military aggression. And unfortunately, if Ukraine fails to receive enough weapons to weaken Russia, this could actually happen.
Europe still has time to avoid the worst-case scenario by accelerating supplies of long-range missiles, air defense systems, fighter jets, and other necessary weaponry to Ukraine. Otherwise, it is only a matter of time before Russian aggression expands westward.