It is not specified which missiles will be supplied
The Bundestag voted for further supplies of weapons to Ukraine. A direct application for Taurus missiles was rejected. But instead, Berlin will provide military assistance in the form of a “large-scale” supply of long-range weapons — but what does this mean?
After the military aid package with Taurus missiles was rejected by the Bundestag, it also approved a resolution on the supply of long-range weapons systems to Ukraine. It reportedly does not mention Taurus missiles.
Let us recall that in mid-January 2024, the German parliament rejected a resolution of the opposition faction CDU/CSU calling on the government to supply Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine. The same vote was repeated on February 22 and again with the same result. 180 legislators were in favor, — 480. Only one deputy from the ruling coalition supported the opposition proposal. This is the head of the Bundestag's defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann.
In the statement of France «Union» called for the “immediate delivery of requested and available weapons systems in Germany,” including Taurus cruise missiles. The leader of the parliamentary party, Friedrich Merz, previously called on deputies of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) to join the proposal — to no avail. However, FDP deputy Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, as announced, voted for this “solely because the Taurus system received an unambiguous name.”
In response to a request from the “Union” The SPD submitted its own proposal to the Bundestag. It also mentions the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine, but does not mention the missile system. Now the proposal has been accepted.
Experts noted that it is not specified which systems are actually meant by the vague term ranged weapon. The deputy chair of the SPD parliamentary group, Gabriela Heinrich, said in the Bundestag that the wording does not necessarily mean Taurus.
«It is a matter of interpretation. The fact is that we did not draw a red line at this stage,” — reported the politician.
Let us explain: Taurus — German-Swedish air-to-ground cruise missile long range, designed for high-precision strikes.
Let us recall that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius assured Ukraine of further military support. However, the politician left open the question of whether this includes Taurus cruise missiles.
In fact, responsibility for arms exports lies not with the Bundestag, but with the Federal Security Council. Members of the council, in addition to the Chancellor, are, for example, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Finance. However, the right to decide belongs to the Federal Chancellor. He has decision-making powers regarding the policies of the federal government.
At the Munich conference, held from February 16 to 18, German Chancellor Scholz did not make clear the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
« This question is strange — you know that Germany spends the most on arms supplies in Europe,” — stated the Chancellor. According to him, in 2023, Berlin provided Kyiv with assistance worth 12 billion euros, and in the spring of 2023, Ukraine submitted an official request for the supply of cruise missiles.