Rockets for Kyiv | Ukraine: Further escalation

With or without Taurus: Germany wants to pay Ukraine for hundreds of long-range missiles. Packaged as an agreement between local industry and the War Ministry in Kyiv , the long-range weapons systems are to be delivered this month. The explosive, ambiguously worded political decision was presented to the German public not by the Chancellor, but by the head of the Special Staff for Ukraine in the Federal Ministry of Defense. Major General Christian Freuding, who will take over as head of the Army in September, has long since used the "we" approach when he speaks of the fight against Russia's army and is thinking for his brothers in arms: He is concerned with weapons "that reach deep into Russian territory" and can destroy depots, headquarters, and airfields.

This move further narrows the line between direct involvement in the war and invites a Russian response. A highly dangerous game. While Ukraine is running out of cannon fodder and men who cannot bribe their way out of military service are forced to hide from recruiters, Russia is being driven even deeper into military logic. The range of the weapons in Ukraine is a matter of the Kremlin's own security. With this further prolongation of the conflict and the associated death toll, the price of a negotiated political solution is also rising. Soon, instead of diplomats, only weapons will do the talking.