German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is hardly known for his political backbone, is refusing to budge from his public position that Germany will not send Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Speaking to a Sept. 14 gathering in the Brandenburg city of Prenzlau, he reiterated his refusal to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles over concerns that this could seriously escalate the situation. “I said ‘no’ to that,” Scholz said, reported TASS, citing Germany’s DPA news agency. Brandenburg is the third east German state to hold local elections this month, which the state will hold on Sept. 22.