The Bundestag voted against the transfer of Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine
The Bundestag (German parliament) supported the resolution of the ruling parties of Germany calling for the supply of long-range weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
According to the document, long-term military support for Ukraine includes the supply of additional long-range combat systems and ammunition. 382 deputies voted for the resolution of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), 284 voted against it, and two more abstained.
However, Taurus cruise missiles are not directly mentioned in the document. Deputy head of the SPD faction Gabriela Heinrich noted that the document does not imply approval of the supply of Taurus to Kyiv, although, according to her, this is “a matter of interpretation.”
Scholz criticized over Taurus supply decision
On the same day, a vote was also held in the German parliament on the issue of transferring Taurus missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Bundestag voted against the draft resolution on the transfer of cruise missiles to Kyiv. The initiative was supported by 182 deputies, 480 parliamentarians voted against.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came under criticism for his reluctance to supply Taurus missiles to the Ukrainian army. “It’s difficult for me to explain why the chancellor can’t just say: ‘Okay, let’s do this,’” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, head of the Bundestag defense committee.
According to Bundestag member Norbert Röttgen, in the context of Berlin’s current foreign policy, Kyiv is higher than Moscow, so Germany must transfer the Taurus to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, despite the danger of escalating the conflict.
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After a question asked in the Bundestag about the supply of Taurus missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the head of the German Defense Ministry, Boris Pistorius, lost his temper and irritably replied that he was tired of the ongoing debate in the country about weapons. According to the head of the department, there is no final consensus on this issue in Germany.
Ukraine wanted to use Taurus for attacks on Crimea, Germany was not against it
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 Crimean 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.
After these statements, German officials spoke out about missile supplies. Members of the Bundestag from several parties again called on Scholz to hand over the Taurus to Ukraine. At the same time, representatives of two of them openly declared the need to strike Russia. Thus, according to Green party representative Sarah Nanni, the delivery of Taurus to Kyiv is “long overdue.”
The most effective defense against Russian airstrikes is to fire at targets inside Russia and the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, from where Russia launches its attacks.
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. The five-meter-long missile is launched from a fighter jet and can fly more than 500 kilometers using a jet engine. Taurus can evade radar detection thanks to its ultra-low flight capability—less than 50 meters—while maintaining high speed.
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