Members of the Bundestag voted against the supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine
The German Parliament (Bundestag) voted against the transfer of Taurus cruise missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
Previously, a resolution with such a demand was sent to the German government by the opposition bloc CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union of Germany and Christian Social Union in Bavaria). The document was rejected by a majority vote (485 parliamentarians against 178, with three abstentions).
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According to Spiegel, the reason for the refusal became reluctance to vote for the CDU/CSU proposal. In addition, the deputies expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the initiative was put forward for parliamentary discussion of the annual report of the Commissioner for Army Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Ukraine wanted to use Taurus for attacks on Crimea and the Crimean bridge
On January 2, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced that he had asked the West to provide German Taurus missiles to destroy the Crimean bridge and isolate the peninsula from Russia. According to the Ukrainian politician, the speed of success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will depend on the military assistance that Kyiv receives from Western partners.
Two months earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba demanded the Taurus from Berlin in a harsh manner.
You'll do it anyway. I don't understand why we're wasting time
After this, Bundestag deputies from several parties called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to transfer Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine for attacking targets in Russia. As Green Party representative Sarah Nanni said, such strikes would supposedly comply with international law. A similar position was expressed by Roderich Kiesewetter, member of the German Parliament from the CDU. According to him, Taurus missiles will help Kyiv, in particular, destroy the Crimean Bridge and the Black Sea Fleet, which will “force Russia to leave Crimea.”
Bavarian Prime Minister and CSU Chairman Markus Soeder called for the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine in order to “prevent” Russia from winning. According to the politician, this is “the only serious chance for Ukraine to gain courage again.” In addition, Soeder noted that Germany and the European Union (EU) face a “real security problem” if Russia wins the conflict.
The Bundeswehr received only 600 Taurus missiles
Taurus KEPD-350 is a long-range air-to-surface cruise missile. It is designed for high-precision strikes and destruction of highly protected and buried targets.
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The five-meter-long missile is launched from a fighter jet and can fly more than 500 kilometers using a jet engine. It navigates using terrain data and compares its location using images and infrared sensors, as well as GPS navigation data. Taurus can evade radar detection thanks to its ultra-low flight capability—less than 50 meters—while maintaining high speed.
Upon contact with the target, the initial charge punches a hole in the wall or ceiling of the target. Then a 400 kilogram metal rod filled with explosives penetrates the hole and explodes.
The guided missile is manufactured by Taurus Systems GmbH. It is a joint venture between the German subsidiary of European defense company MBDA and Sweden's Saab Dynamics.
Since 2004, the Bundeswehr received 600 Taurus KEPD-350 cruise missiles.
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