Ukraine’s use of British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles are purely a matter for Kyiv, Downing Street has said after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hinted British troops were involved in “target control”.
Mr Scholz is resisting calls to supply the German equivalent of the system to Ukraine, arguing it would require the presence of troops on the ground.
The UK has confirmed a “small number” of British troops are in Ukraine, but said they were mainly involved in diplomatic protection and medical training roles.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has warned the West against deeper involvement in the fighting, saying that such a move risked a global nuclear conflict.
Mr Scholz told reporters in Germany that Taurus was “a very far-reaching weapon” and added: “What is being done in the way of target control and accompanying target control on the part of the British and the French can’t be done in Germany. Everyone who has dealt with this system knows that.”
Asked if he was worried that German soldiers would have to go to Ukraine to control what the missiles targeted, Mr Scholz said that “German soldiers must at no point and in no place be linked to targets this (Taurus) system reaches”, and added “not in Germany either”.
In Westminster, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “That is obviously a matter for the German Chancellor. Germany has been a leader in providing crucial military support to Ukraine since the start of the war. And we continue to work with them and all of our allies support Ukraine’s right to self-defence.”
He added: “Ukraine’s use of the Storm Shadow long-range missile system and its targeting processes are a matter for the armed forces of Ukraine.”
The spokesman said the UK had been clear that “a small number of personnel are in the country to provide security for our diplomatic presence and to support the armed forces of Ukraine, including through medical training” but would not be drawn on how many troops were in the region.
Tobias Ellwood, former chairman of the Commons defence committee, claimed Mr Scholz’s comments were a “flagrant abuse of intelligence deliberately designed to distract from Germany’s reluctance to arm Ukraine with its own long-range missile system”.
“This will no doubt be used by Russia to racket up the escalator ladder,” he told the Telegraph.
But Downing Street insisted: “We have an excellent relationship with Germany and we continue to work with them and allies in supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defence in their fight against the Russian troops.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska visited No 10 to meet Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty on Thursday.