Germany should respond to Navalny death by sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine, says top lawmaker

MUNICH — The death of Russia's opposition leader Alexei Navalny should push German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, the chair of the Bundestag's defense committee said Sunday.

"The right answer is to now send everything that we have, even this Taurus," said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a lawmaker from the Free Democrats (FDP), which forms the ruling coalition along with the Greens and Scholz's Social Democrats.

The Greens, FDP and the opposition Christian Democrats are all in favor of delivering Taurus missiles, which have a range of about 500 kilometers and a powerful warhead that can destroy reinforced targets or key infrastructure like bridges.

It's that ability that is giving Berlin pause, worried about Moscow's reaction if Ukraine pummels key targets like the Kerch Strait bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea.

The block on the Taurus has become a sore point in Germany, which otherwise is far ahead of other European countries in delivering military aid to Ukraine. When asked about his refusal to send the missiles at the Munich Security Conference, Scholz simply said the question was "strange."

"It's hard for me to explain why the chancellor didn't say, 'Come on, let's do it'," Strack-Zimmermann said at the conference. "Two days ago — the death of Navalny just in this moment when we come together in this conference — it's a sign and we have to react."

Ben Hodges, the former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, said the Taurus would be a powerful addition to the Ukrainian arsenal at a time when the country is under growing pressure from Russian attacks.

"Every square meter of Russian-occupied Ukraine is in range ... nothing would be safe," said Hodges.

Ukrainian officials who spoke to POLITICO said that securing Taurus deliveries is now a vital demand for Kyiv.

“There is only one way to destroy Russia, to hit deep into Russian-occupied territory,” said one senior Ukrainian official who was granted anonymity to speak freely.

Germany and other Western countries have earlier balked at sending more-sophisticated weapons to Ukraine — from advanced artillery to air defenses to main battle tanks and jet fighters — before finally giving way.

"Europe initially said 'no' only to ultimately change course," the official said.

Even senior EU officials are ramping up the pressure.

"We have been hesitating too much, too many times,” said the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell in Munich on Sunday. "Two years ago we were ready to give helmets, now we are giving F-16s. ... Had we taken these decisions quicker maybe the war would have been different.”

It isn't all on Germany. Ukraine is also seeking American ATACMS missiles — so far only a handful have been handed over. Berlin usually favors moving in step with the U.S. when it comes to upgrading Ukraine's capabilities.

Ukraine has also taken deliveries of British and French Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles.

Kyiv is also desperate for more artillery ammunition to stem what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia's "meat wave" attacks, as well as more air defense systems and ammunition to contest control of the skies and shoot down incoming drones and ballistic missiles.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba raised Ukraine’s defense needs with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a 30-minute bilateral meeting Saturday morning in Munich. Kyiv is hoping for an end to the political deadlock in Washington over approving $60 billion in aid.

Heather Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund, said air defense is now crucial for Ukraine.

“We’re increasingly seeing that Ukraine is having a harder time knocking down the Iranian Shahed drones, and now with North Korean missiles added, over time that’s going to be more destructive on main cities” she said. “They need air defense capabilities.”