Joachim Gauck, former President of Germany, publicly advocates for providing long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Former German President Joachim Gauck sharply criticized the German government’s position on supplying long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. He expressed his thoughts in an interview with Bild am Sonntag, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
“I am not an expert in military affairs, but I have talked to people with the necessary military knowledge. After these conversations, I can no longer understand why we hesitate to supply this weapon and other ammunition,” Gauck stated.
He added that in the conditions of an exhausting positional war and Russia’s mass strikes on Ukrainian cities, ‘I look with concern at what we are doing and ask if our support is sufficient.’
Gauck said that there is no international legal prohibition on providing armed assistance to the victim of aggression.
“We are allowed to do this. And we must do it—using everything at our disposal. Without any ‘ifs’ and ‘buts.’ Because Russia’s victory will also jeopardize the security of other European states in the medium term,” Gauck said.
The former President of Germany also mentioned Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the interview.
“The Chancellor must constantly ask himself whether he is falling behind his stated demand to do everything to prevent Russia from achieving a victorious peace [for it]. It is astonishing when the government’s indecision leads not only to a decrease in Ukraine’s chances but also to an increased threat to the free world,” said the former federal president.