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       Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his refusal to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, telling German lawmakers on Wednesday that prudence is not a weakness while insisting that he trusts Kyiv.

       Germany has become the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the US, but Scholz has held out for months against Ukraine's desire for German Taurus missiles.

       They have a range of up to 500 kilometres – meaning they could in theory be used against targets far into Russian territory.

       That position has frustrated the main centre-right opposition bloc and parts of Scholz's three-party coalition.

       Criticism didn't diminish after Scholz finally offered a detailed explanation last month, pointing to his insistence that Germany must not become directly involved in the war.

       The chancellor has long insisted he is determined to help Ukraine without escalating the war and drawing Germany and NATO into it, stressing that no German soldiers will go to Ukraine.

       On February 22, German lawmakers called on the government to deliver further long-range weapons to Ukraine. They voted down an opposition call explicitly urging the transfer of Taurus missiles, however.

       Over the past two years, Scholz has at times drawn criticism for appearing to hesitate before offering Kyiv various German weapons systems, such as the Leopard 2 battle tanks. He has dug in much harder on Taurus missiles, though he has stopped short of explicitly ruling out delivering them at some point.

       "From my point of view, this is a very long-range weapon," he told parliament's lower house, the Bundestag. "Given the significance of not losing control over targets, this weapon could not be used without the deployment of German soldiers. I reject that."

       Highlighting Germany's extensive contributions to Ukraine's defence, Scholz said "it remains central that we weigh every individual decision carefully."

       "Prudence is not something that one can qualify as a weakness, as some do," he said. "Prudence is something that the citizens of our country are entitled to."

       Excuses, excuses

       Critics reject Scholz's insistence that Taurus missiles could only be responsibly used with the involvement of German soldiers whether inside or outside Ukraine – which he said is "a line that I as chancellor do not want to cross."

       In a sometimes testy exchange with conservative lawmakers at a regular question-and-answer session, Scholz rejected the suggestion he didn't trust Ukraine to use the missiles responsibly.

       "We trust Ukraine. That's why Germany is by a long distance the biggest supplier of weapons among the European states," he said.

       Britain and France have long since announced that they were sending Storm Shadow and Scalp long-range missiles, respectively, to Ukraine.

       But Scholz said last month that "what is being done in the way of target control and accompanying target control on the part of the British and the French can't be done in Germany." He didn't elaborate then, or on Wednesday.

       Conservative lawmaker Norbert R？ttgen accused Scholz of "not explaining the real motives for your policy, (and) repeatedly finding new excuses that in part contradict each other and rule each other out."

       On Thursday, the centre-right opposition is putting a new motion urging the government to send Taurus missiles to a vote in the Bundestag, hoping to exploit divisions in the governing coalition.

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       The embarrassing leak of a recording of four high-ranking German air force officers discussing hypothetically how Kyiv could use Taurus missiles against Russian forces was barely alluded to in Wednesday's session.

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       Days after being criticised for a comment appearing to suggest that Ukraine surrender to Russia, Catholic Pope Francis on Wednesday issued a statement condemning all wars.

       In an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, partially released on Saturday, the pontiff had suggested that Ukraine should have “the courage to raise the white flag” and open talks with Russia to end the two-year conflict.

       His comments have been condemned by both Ukraine and its allies.

       President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said Francis was engaging in "virtual mediation" and his foreign minister said Kyiv would never capitulate.

       In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Our flag is blue and yellow. We live, die and win under it. We will not raise other flags.”

       Then on Monday, the foreign ministry summoned the papal ambassador to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, to express Kyiv's disappointment in the pontiff's statement.

       In an interview with Euronews, the archbishop said the Pope was not suggesting Ukraine surrender to Russia.

       “When he used the term 'negotiations', the Pope implied that all parties should be involved in the process. Specifically, it should be the aggressors, in this case, Russia, who cease fire first and create conditions for negotiation,” he said.

       He added that while talk about negotiation “might sound naive, given the unfavourable events of the past few years”, the Pope was suggesting that new approaches be explored to “ultimately find the most suitable form of negotiation, one that respects Ukraine and human lives”.

       Kylbokas said that, the Vatican’s support for Ukraine goes beyond mere humanitarian aid and that various forms of assistance are being offered.

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       President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its statehood, sovereignty or independence, voicing hope that the US would refrain from actions that could trigger a nuclear conflict.

       Putin's statement was another blunt warning to the West ahead of a presidential vote this week in which he's all but certain to win another six-year term.

       In an interview with Russian state television released early Wednesday, Putin described US President Joe Biden as a veteran politician who fully understands possible dangers of escalation, and said that he doesn't think that the world is heading to a nuclear war.

       At the same time, he emphasised that Russia's nuclear forces are in full readiness and "from the military-technical viewpoint, we're prepared."

       Putin said that in line with the country's security doctrine, Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons in case of a threat to "the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence."

       The Russian leader has repeatedly talked about his readiness to use nuclear weapons since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The most recent such threat came in his state-of-the-nation address last month, when he warned the West that deepening its involvement in the fighting in Ukraine would risk a nuclear war.

       Asked in the interview if he has ever considered using battlefield nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Putin responded that there has been no need for that.

       He also voiced confidence that Moscow will achieve its goals in Ukraine and issued a blunt warning to Western allies, declaring that "the nations that say they have no red lines regarding Russia should realise that Russia won't have any red lines regarding them either."

       He held the door open for talks, but emphasised that Russia will hold onto its gains and would seek firm guarantees from the West.

       "It shouldn't be a break for the enemy to rearm but a serious talk involving the guarantees of security for the Russian Federation," he said.

       Putin said that a recent spike in Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia is part of efforts to derail the country's three-day presidential election, which starts Friday and which he is set to win by a landslide, relying on the tight control over Russia's political scene he has established during his 24-year rule.

       An apartment building is seen destroyed by a Russian attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. AP/Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP

       Russian authorities reported another major attack by Ukrainian drones early Wednesday. The Defence Ministry said air defences downed 58 drones over six regions. One of the drones hit an oil refinery in the Ryazan region, injuring at least two people and sparking a fire. Another drone was downed as it was approaching a refinery near St. Petersburg.

       Ukraine, meanwhile, reported more Russian attacks early Wednesday.

       A Russian strike killed two people and injured another five in the town of Myrnohrad in the eastern region of Donetsk, about 30 kilometres from the front line, according to Gov. Vadym Filashkin. Local rescuers managed to pull a 13-year-old girl out of the rubble of an apartment building that was hit by a Russian missile.

       A five-storey building in the northern city of Sumy was struck by a drone launched from Russia overnight and 10 people were rescued from the rubble, including eight who sustained injuries, according to the regional administration.

       Meanwhile, in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, the death toll from a Russian missile attack the previous night rose to four.

       Governor Serhii Lysak said that 43 people were wounded in Kryvyi Rih, including 12 children, the youngest of them two years and eleven months old.

       "Every day our cities and villages suffer similar attacks. Every day Ukraine loses people because of Russian evil," Zelenskyy said.