German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Taurus aircraft cruise missiles are weapons that require German forces to control, so supplies of such missiles to Ukraine are excluded.

"From my point of view, this is a very long-range weapon. Given the significance of not losing control over targets, this weapon could not be used without the deployment of German soldiers. I reject that," the Associated Press (AP) said, citing the chancellor in Bundestag.

He recalled Germany's contribution to the supply of military aid to Ukraine: in this regard, Germany ranks second after the United States. However, Scholz said the German authorities consider each case of aid supplies on an individual basis. "Prudence is not something that one can qualify as a weakness, as some do,” he said. “Prudence is something that the citizens of our country are entitled to," the chancellor said.

Previously, Scholz had repeatedly refused to supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine, although there were calls within the ruling coalition and among the German opposition to transfer the missiles to Kyiv.

Britain and France, in turn, sent Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles to Ukraine. In this regard, Scholz stated that Germany cannot exercise the same control in terms of choosing targets when launching these missiles as the British and French are capable of. On Wednesday, Scholz did not develop this topic, AP said.