Merz lifts range limits on Ukraine weapons to hit targets inside Russia

BERLIN — Germany and its key allies have lifted range restrictions on weapons sent to Ukraine allowing Kyiv to hit targets inside Russia with no external limits, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday.

That announcement by the German leader could clear the path for Berlin to finally deliver its powerful Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv, something that the previous government refused to do so as not to provoke nuclear-armed Russia.

“There are no more range limitations for weapons delivered to Ukraine. Neither from the Brits, nor the French, nor from us. Not from the Americans either,” Merz said at the WDR Europaforum in Berlin on Monday. He added that Ukraine must be allowed to strike back “by attacking military infrastructure on Russian territory.”

The shift marks a significant change in German security policy under the new center-right grand coalition between Merz’s conservative Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

While the previous SPD-led government under Olaf Scholz repeatedly rejected the delivery of Taurus missiles — citing escalation risks — Merz signaled during the campaign that he was open to it, provided there was alignment with allies.

That condition may now be fulfilled. France and the U.K. have already supplied comparable SCALP/Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, and the U.S. has eased restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American weapons near the border. 

The German Taurus, with a range of over 500 kilometers and carrying a powerful warhead, would allow Kyiv to disrupt Russian logistics hubs deep behind enemy lines with high precision.

Ukraine has long requested the system, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced “more than hope” that the Merz government will deliver. While Merz stopped short of confirming such a move, he pledged that Germany would “do everything” to support Ukraine militarily.

The chancellor has also shifted course on transparency: Future weapons deliveries will largely be kept confidential, in an effort to keep Moscow in the dark about what Ukraine is receiving.