Former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has slammed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his hesitation in providing military aid to Ukraine.
Wallace expressed his opinion in an interview with the German news agency dpa, Wallace believes that Scholz should provide Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
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"I think the reason is you can't incrementally help Ukraine, you know, a bit of this and a bit of that. Do we want Ukraine to win? Or do we want them to lose? […] Ukraine will abide by any restrictions you put on them. So you could give them Taurus. And you could add all sorts of restrictions about where you want it used or not used," Wallace said.
He also dismissed comments made by Scholz that suggested British and French troops are in Ukraine, programming cruise missiles.
"He was wrong. […] I can't tell you how Storm Shadows and Scalps are programmed. But it doesn't involve people standing around in an airport in Ukraine, it doesn't need to do that," Wallace said.
While he understands Scholz's reasons for concern regarding a possible escalation of the conflict, these are unfounded, Wallace said.
"We've seen throughout this whole process that Russia's red lines are like chalk, they just brush off the chalkboard," he said.
While applauding Germany for ramping up its support for Ukraine, the former minister reiterated his harsh criticism of Scholz's leadership.
"I think he's not a leader for conflict at the moment. And there is conflict on our shores. And I think he, you know, the point he doesn't understand deterrence, he doesn't understand ambiguity, he doesn't seem to understand that in the process we face in dealing with Russia, looking either indecisive, or flip-flopping on certain decisions, or seeming to be out of step with your allies, only aids Putin," Wallace said.
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Wallace served as UK defense secretary from 2019 to 2023.
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