UK urges Germany to give long-range missiles to Kyiv despite Luftwaffe leak

Taurus missiles could strike deep inside Russia so Berlin is unwilling to supply them especially after Kremlin claims about western involvement

• How significant is Russia’s apparent interception of military talks on Ukraine?

Britain has urged a reluctant Berlin to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv despite an embarrassing leak to Russian television of a top-secret call involving German air force officers who said UK troops were “on the ground” in Ukraine.

The Kremlin sought to exploit what it saw as a propaganda coup and pressure the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who in turn insisted on Monday he would not donate rockets that could strike at the strategic Kerch bridge linking Russia and occupied Crimea.