German politician from the Christian Democratic Union, defense expert Roderich Kiesewetter criticized the US refusal to deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany and called for the creation of alternative long-range systems together with Ukraine and European partners. He was quoted by Tagesschau on May 4th.
According to him, the refusal to deploy American missiles is a “serious mistake”, because it weakens the defense capability of the West against the background of the threat from the aggressor country of the Russian Federation. The politician emphasized that Russia has already violated international agreements on medium-range missiles, so Europe needs to respond by developing its own or joint weapons.
Kiesewetter believes that new systems can be developed jointly with Ukraine until about 2030 and this will strengthen the conventional deterrence of Russia.
Security expert Nico Lange expressed a similar position. He said that in the absence of American missiles, Europe needs “long-range systems independent of the United States” that could provide deterrence. He warned that otherwise there could be a “defense gap” that Russia could use to put pressure on Europe.
