Cruise missiles
Union wants Bundestag vote on Taurus deliveries to Ukraine – Merz demands commitment to the traffic light
A Tornado IDS ASSTA 3.0 fighter jet equipped with the Taurus guided missile
© Andrea Bienert/Bundeswehr/DPA
The CDU/CSU wants to bring the traffic light government to a decision on the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. The parliamentary group wants to submit a corresponding motion to the Bundestag on Wednesday. The SPD has been hesitant so far, the Greens are becoming impatient.
The Union is increasing the pressure on the federal government Ukraine to provide Taurus cruise missiles. The Union parliamentary group wants to introduce a motion for a resolution to the Bundestag on Wednesday afternoon, with which such a delivery will be put to the vote, parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) announced on Tuesday in Berlin. The vote should follow the report by the military commissioner Eva Högl (SPD).
“We assess the situation in Ukraine as increasingly critical,” said Merz. The Ukrainian army is currently fighting with no prospect of actually pushing back the Russian troops. “The Taurus cruise missiles could make a contribution to this, particularly by destroying the land connection from Crimea to the Russian mainland,” said Merz. Most of the supplies for the Russian armed forces go through this.
Merz: Traffic light MPs could “follow their words with actions”
If the FDP and Greens approve the proposal, it could also result in a majority. “The Chancellor would then be asked by the German Parliament to finally deliver this weapon system,” he said.
Some members of the traffic light government, who recently spoke out in favor of Taurus deliveries contrary to the position of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), could “follow their words with actions” in the roll-call vote, said Merz.
At the beginning of October, Scholz decided not to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine for the time being. The fear behind this was that Russian territory could also be hit by the precision weapons.
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500 kilometer range: Taurus is one of the most modern missiles in the Air Force
The co-chairman of the Green Party has shown himself impatient with the federal government’s still pending decision on the delivery of cruise missiles to Ukraine. Whether the desired Taurus-type weapons will be delivered to the country attacked by Russia should now be decided “very soon,” said Omid Nouripour in a world TV interview on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “I increasingly understand that Ukrainians are wondering where the answer is.” The traffic light coalition checks almost every day how Ukraine can be given more support. “I think it’s time to finally tell them the German answer very soon. They deserve that.”
The Taurus is one of the Air Force’s most modern missiles. The cruise missiles have a range of more than 500 kilometers and would make it easier for Kiev to attack weapons depots and supply lines. The weapons find their target even from great heights and distances and can, for example, destroy bunkers. Ukraine has been demanding it for a long time.