The news comes as Germany’s incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, reiterated he would supply Ukraine with the much-coveted cruise missiles if the move is coordinated with European partners.

The outgoing German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has repeatedly blocked the delivery of Taurus missiles over his concerns about escalation. Merz has been critical of this position and advocated for Ukraine’s ability to strike on a strategic level.

In an interview, Merz also suggested that the long-range missiles, if supplied to Ukraine, could be used to target strategic Russian military infrastructure in occupied Crimea.

While the decision on sending Taurus missiles is yet to be finalized, Merz noted that other European countries “are already supplying cruise missiles. The British are doing it, the French are doing it, and the Americans are doing it anyway… this must be jointly agreed. And if it’s agreed, then Germany should take part.”

Ukraine has previously received U.S.-made ATACMS, the British Storm Shadow, and the French SCALP missiles, deploying them against Russian positions in occupied territories and Russian border regions.

Despite the incoming chancellor’s optimism, the issue of sending Taurus missiles remains contentious, particularly as the new coalition between Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) is still discussing key security policy issues.

According to an undisclosed senior official in Merz’s party quoted by the Telegraph, a British endorsement or “any influence by U.K. leadership to finally convince Germany to deliver Taurus might help and is highly welcomed.”

This means that restrictions on Russian LNG are unlikely to be part of the EU’s upcoming 17th sanctions package.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe began to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels to avoid financing the Kremlin’s war chest.

Despite these efforts, Europe’s imports of Russian LNG, which is largely not subject to sanctions, have soared to record levels in 2024. A ban on Russian LNG has been debated for months, but the members have struggled to find consensus on the issue.

U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for the EU to start purchasing U.S. LNG instead, but details of such a potential deal remain unclear.

As economic relations between the U.S. and the EU sour over Trump’s new sweeping tariffs, Brussels wants to use Russian LNG supplies as leverage in trade talks with Washington, a European Commission official told Reuters.

The EU is also careful not to create a dependency on the U.S. either, according to the news agency. Trump’s sweeping import duties on much of the world, as well as a foreign policy pivot away from European partners and embrace of Moscow, raise concerns in Europe that Washington is no longer a reliable partner.

The European bloc plans to completely phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027, and the European Commission is expected to provide a plan by May 6 – a deadline postponed from March amid uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs.