German Bundestag approves long-range weapons for Ukraine, Taurus delivery uncertain

The German Bundestag voted in favor of providing "long-range weapons systems and ammunition" to Ukraine, Deutsche Welle reported on Feb. 22.

The motion received 382 votes in favor, 284 against, and 2 abstentions.

The ruling coalition parties have differing views on whether this includes the delivery of Taurus missiles, DW said.

Read also: ‘Just give us the orders!’ — German arms manufacturers plead with Pistorius to speed up procurement

The wording of the parliamentary resolution does not necessarily imply Taurus, said Gabriela Heinrich, an MP from Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD).

"It's a matter of interpretation,” Heinrich said.

“The fact is: we haven't drawn a red line at this point."

During the coordination of the document before the parliamentary vote, representatives from the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) demanded that the name of the Taurus missiles be included, but the ruling SPD rejected this, DW said.

Read also: Taurus missiles would not break stalemate in Ukraine – Berlin

Yehor Chernev, Ukraine’s Parliament MP and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on National Security, and Defense stated that the decision on transferring missiles now rests with Olaf Scholz.

"We are gradually raising the level of the issue to achieve a result," Chernev said on Facebook.

The coalition agreed on a compromise text of the resolution on long-range weapons without mentioning Taurus. However, there are no other missiles for such purposes in Germany, he said.

The Bundestag rejected the opposition's proposal to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles on Feb. 22.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in September 2023 that Berlin didn’t refuse to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but was not ready to do so now.

The reason for this could be Scholz’s hesitation, because, as previously reported by the media, he expressed concern that Kyiv might attack Russian territory.

Read also: Germany meets NATO defense spending goal of 2% GDP for first time since Cold War amid Russia’s war

Ukraine, on the other hand, has repeatedly said that it will not use Western long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.

The Bundestag did not support a draft resolution on Jan. 17 calling for the supply of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Only 178 out of 666 MPs voted in favor.

Christian Freuding, head of the Special Staff for Ukraine at the German Ministry of Defense, said on Feb. 5 that long-range Taurus missiles cannot turn the tide of war in favor of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine