Olaf Scholz on German missiles for Ukraine: It’s still a no

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is sticking to his “nein” on the delivery of German long-range missiles to Ukraine despite reports that the United States has changed course.

The Biden administration’s apparent decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles — known as the Army Tactical Missile System or ATACMS — to strike targets inside Russia has had “no effect” on Scholz’s refusal to provide Ukraine with German-made Taurus long-range missiles, a German government spokesperson told reporters in Berlin on Monday.

“There are certain limits for the chancellor,” the spokesperson said. “He does not want these long-range weapons to be delivered. This position will not change.”

The shift by the White House comes as Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region brace for an assault by some 50,000 troops — including 10,000 North Korean soldiers — and as President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to strike a peace agreement immediately upon taking office, stoking fears in Kyiv he could press Ukraine to make unwanted concessions. The U.S. move will also reportedly allow Ukrainian forces to use long-range missiles provided by the United Kingdom and France to strike Russia.

The U.S. and Germany — the two biggest providers of military aid to Ukraine — have since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 closely coordinated their support, with Scholz often waiting for U.S. President Joe Biden to move first and then following along.

But this time, Scholz — who has repeatedly refused to send Germany’s Taurus missiles, citing the risk of escalation of the war — is unlikely to follow. Ahead of a Feb. 23 election, he is staking his slim reelection chances on the campaign message that he’s the safe choice when it comes to preventing the war from spiraling out of control.

Other political leaders in Germany praised the U.S. move.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a member of the Greens, applauded the Biden administration decision to allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes inside Russia. “It has long been known that [my party] sees this in the same way as do our Eastern European partners, the British, the French and the Americans,” she told a German public radio station. “It is within the framework of international law.”

Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who leads the center-right Christian Democratic Union, has also criticized Scholz for refusing to deliver long-range missiles to Ukraine and said he’d be willing to do so should he take office.

On Friday, Scholz spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about an hour in what was the first direct exchange between the two leaders in nearly two years.

Scholz’s attempt at phone diplomacy was strongly criticized by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said it was no substitute for real action. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also critical, saying Scholz’s contact with Putin would open a “Pandora’s box” and undermine attempts to isolate Russia.