In brief: Speaking during an interview with ZDF, excerpts of which were published on Thursday, Nov. 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed Ukraine’s push for German Taurus cruise missiles, saying Kyiv would like to order and combat-test them. Calling Taurus a sensitive topic, he argued that cooperation with Ukraine benefits Germany. He said combat use turned the IRIS-T air defense system into a global leader and left its manufacturers with orders for 10 to 20 years. Meanwhile Berlin has consistently refused to send Taurus, citing fears of escalation.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed Ukraine’s long-standing push for German Taurus cruise missiles, arguing that striking Russian launch sites has become Kyiv’s only way of countering Russian ballistic missile attacks.
Speaking during an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, Zelensky described Taurus as a “sensitive topic,” noting that the request was driven by a shortfall in air defense support from Washington.
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“They [Russian forces] have built entire launch sites and are killing us, while we have no way to defend ourselves,” Zelensky said. “These are not civilian targets, infrastructure, or energy facilities. That is why we really wanted to order Taurus missiles,” he continued.
Ukraine, according to Zelensky, seeks not only to purchase the missiles but also to test them in combat conditions, describing the arrangement as mutually beneficial.
IRIS-T as precedent
Zelensky, presented his remarks as a response to skeptics in partner countries who question what Ukraine offers in return for Western assistance, citing Germany’s IRIS-T air defense system as an example.
He expressed gratitude to the system’s manufacturers and said that combat use in Ukraine had enabled them to address its shortcomings, which, he argued, can be fully identified “only in a real war.”
“We have made IRIS-T the world’s number one system after the [US-made] Patriot, which is an anti-ballistic system,” Zelensky said.
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According to him, the system now costs between $600,000 and around $1 million to $1.5 million, while the price of a single missile has increased severalfold, and in some cases by tens of times.
“Germany now has orders backed up for 10 to 20 years,” he continued, saying that the demand has helped create job opportunities.
Why Taurus remains a sensitive topic
The Taurus KEPD-350 is an air-launched cruise missile (ALCM), produced jointly by Germany’s MBDA Deutschland and Sweden’s Saab Bofors Dynamics. It has an official range of more than 500 kilometers (311 miles) and flies at speeds just below Mach 1.
The missile carries a 480-kilogram (1,060-pound) two-stage “bunker-busting” warhead, in which an initial penetration charge clears the way for the main high-explosive charge.
Kyiv first requested the missiles in May 2023, but Berlin rejected the request that October, citing concerns over their range. Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz repeatedly declined to authorize the transfer, maintaining that Germany would not enable strikes deep into Russia.
In 2025, Moscow warned Berlin that it would regard any Ukrainian Taurus strike on Russian transport infrastructure as Germany’s “direct participation” in the war.
Meanwhile, Germany has emerged as one of Ukraine’s leading providers of air defense support in Europe.
In June, Zelensky announced that Kyiv had signed a contract with Berlin for 600 air defense missiles, while an earlier €4 billion ($4.7 billion) bilateral defense package included the delivery of 36 IRIS-T launchers.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius dismissed the need to supply Taurus in July, arguing that Ukraine is already able to conduct deep strikes inside Russia with its own drones.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Zelensky arrived in Berlin, where he held talks with German authorities on strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses, securing energy support and coordinating diplomatic efforts.
Following the meetings, Zelensky announced a forthcoming German winter support package and said the Berlin discussions included supplies of PAC-2, PAC-3 and IRIS-T air defense missiles.
He also highlighted German businesses’ readiness to participate in Ukraine’s recovery, saying cooperation would be developed further at the German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin on Nov. 20.
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