Olaf Scholz is against the delivery of the Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine. For the Union, the issue is not off the table – it is submitting an application.
Berlin – The Union is calling for the Taurus cruise missile to be delivered to Ukraine. The CDU and CSU submitted a corresponding application to the Bundestag on Thursday (November 16). They are calling on the traffic light coalition to deliver the precision weapon to Ukraine – and also to train Ukrainian soldiers in how to use Taurus.
The application states that in the Ukraine war, the federal government should “finally and immediately comply with the Ukrainian request for the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles from the Bundeswehr’s available stocks to the greatest possible extent.”
Taurus delivery: criticism of the Federal Chancellor’s decision
Ukraine had already asked for the cruise missile to be delivered in May. At the beginning of October, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke out against it, which the Union criticized. At a Bundeswehr conference on Friday (November 10th) he did not comment on the ongoing controversial topic of Taurus.
Criticism of Scholz’s decision also comes from Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter. FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also called for the cruise missile to be delivered and criticized what she saw as the Chancellor’s hesitation for too long.
This is the Taurus cruise missile
Cruise missiles are unmanned aircraft. They are used against well-secured enemy facilities. The Taurus was developed in Germany, is around five meters long and weighs almost 1,400 kilograms. It is equipped with its own engine and a total of four independent navigation systems. Taurus can autonomously target targets up to 500 kilometers away and has a warhead system weighing around 480 kilograms.
Scholz justifies his decision by wanting to avoid an escalation in the Ukraine war. At a NATO summit in Granada, Spain, he said that Germany must be prevented from becoming part of the dispute.
The Union also mentioned the fear that Ukraine could attack Russian territory with the Taurus in its application. However, there is no reason to doubt “Ukrainian commitments,” the paper says. Military expert Gustav Gressel from the European Council on Foreign Relations said ntv.deit is not in Ukraine’s interest to betray the trust of donor countries.
Cruise missiles for Ukraine: USA, France and Great Britain have delivered
France and Great Britain have already delivered Tauus-like weapons to Ukraine, Scalp and Storm Shadow, which Ukraine uses against Russian targets. However, these weapons can only reach targets up to 250 kilometers away.
The USA has provided Ukraine with the ATACMS missile system. These ballistic missiles have a range of 165 kilometers.
Gressel emphasized that France and Great Britain had agreed with Kiev that every target of the cruise missiles delivered would be coordinated with them. “That means that before the Ukrainians attack any target with Scalp or Storm Shadow, they make sure again in Paris or London that it is okay and that no complications are expected from this attack,” said Gressel.
Germany’s Taurus cruise missile could cut off supplies to Russian-occupied Crimea
The CDU MP Roderich Kiesewetter justified his parliamentary group’s Taurus proposal as follows: “It’s about cutting off the Russian supply lines with long-range weapons. Far-reaching to protect Ukrainian troops. But also to make it clear what the war aim is, the restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
The Taurus cruise missile could help Ukraine cut off Russian-occupied Crimea from supplies, Kiesewetter argued. The goal must be to “snatch Crimea away from Russia, and one means of doing this is Taurus.”
Germany must do more to show Putin that “he cannot be militarily successful with his plan,” said defense politician Florian Hahn from the CSU. This decision rests with the “Chancellor and his hesitant advisors in the Chancellery.”
The Bundestag has referred the Union’s application for the delivery of the Taurus cruise missile to the Foreign Affairs Committee with votes from the Traffic Light parliamentary group. (like)
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