"Germany used to have a responsible, smart and balanced foreign and security strategy. Are we really OK with the prospect that German missiles could strike Russia? I am definitely against deliveries of cruise missiles," he wrote on social media.
Speaking to press, Kretschmer said that the federal government had repeatedly crossed its own "red lines" by supplying Kiev with heavier weapons than was originally planned.
Kiev has been reportedly pressing Berlin for Taurus missiles. Chancellor Olaf Scholz told ZDF in an interview out Sunday that Berlin was assessing the possibility of granting that wish. Talks are also underway about whether the weapon could be modified to make it impossible for Ukraine to strike inside Russia.
Russia has condemned foreign military support of Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned the West last year that all weapon shipments to Ukraine would be treated as a legitimate target for Russian forces amid the Russian military operation in Ukraine.