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Germany will continue not to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
© Andrea Bienert/Bundeswehr/dpa
Guesswork in the Bundestag: The coalition is calling on the government to supply additional long-range weapons - but how this is to be understood remains unclear.
Berlin – The Bundestag has called on the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to provide Ukraine with “additionally necessary long-range weapon systems” for the defensive campaign against Russia.
A corresponding motion was passed in the Bundestag this Thursday (February 22nd) with the votes of the SPD, Greens and FDP.
382 MPs voted in favor, 284 against, and there were two abstentions.
Which systems are meant by this is interpreted differently by the traffic light groups.
For many politicians from the Greens and FDP, this means Taurus cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers.
The deputy parliamentary group leader of the SPD, Gabriela Heinrich, said in the Bundestag that the wording “does not necessarily” mean Taurus.
“It is a question of interpretation (...).
The fact is: We have not drawn a red line at this point.”
Taurus deliveries to Ukraine: Scholz evades the SiKo question
Taurus cruise missiles are fired from aircraft.
They can hit targets up to 500 kilometers away with great precision.
Ukraine wants to cut off supplies to Russian troops at the front.
The government in Kiev officially requested the Taurus cruise missiles from Germany in May 2023.
The Chancellor declared in October that Germany would not deliver Taurus for the time being.
The fear behind this is that the missiles could hit Russian territory and Russia would interpret this as a direct attack with German participation.
At the Munich Security Conference, Scholz avoided the question of whether he might still want to release it.
In an interview, he simply assured that Germany would always do enough to support Ukraine.
(dpa/frs)