Rheinmetall chief convinced Taurus missiles not enough to change situation on Ukrainian battlefield

The decisive factor in the Russia-Ukraine war is not long-range missiles, but traditional artillery.

This was stated in an interview with the German Handelsblatt by Armin Papperger, CEO of Germany's largest arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall.

Papperger expressed scepticism about the impact the recent delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine will have on the course of the conflict.

"That doesn’t change anything in the war — the Taurus is not a gamechanger," said the 62-year-old. "The real gamechanger is traditional artillery ammunition. Only with that can Ukraine keep the Russians at a distance."

The German CEO also spoke of the role Europe's fifth-largest arms manufacturer will play in light of the continent enhancing its defence capabilities. He informed the publication that Rheinmetall will significantly increase artillery shell production at its Unterlüß facility in Lower Saxony, which will increase its production output up to 350,000 artillery shells, which would make it the second-largest artillery factory in Europe.

Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has consistently opposed sending Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, citing fears of further escalating the conflict, but CDU chief Friedrich Merz, who is set to become the new head of government, has openly criticised this stance, supporting Ukraine’s right to conduct strategic strikes.

Merz recently proposed that, if delivered, the long-range Taurus missiles could be used to hit key Russian military infrastructure in occupied Crimea. While no final decision has been made on the delivery, Merz pointed out that Ukraine has already received long-range systems from other allies, including US-supplied ATACMS, Britain’s Storm Shadow, and France’s SCALP missiles, which have been used against Russian forces in occupied Ukrainian areas and along the border.

By Nazrin Sadigova