German MPs urge Scholz to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles

A group of three German MPs have sent a letter to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to demand the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on Sept. 14.

The MPs argue that Ukraine needs the German long-range missiles to "specifically weaken Russian war logistics" amidst the ongoing counteroffensive.

The letter was written by Andreas Schwarz from Scholz's own Social Democratic Party, Anton Hofreiter from the Greens, and Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the Free Democrats Party.

All three parties make up the current governing coalition in the Bundestag, the German parliament. Strack-Zimmermann is the head of the parliament's defense committee.

Ukraine submitted a request to Germany for Taurus missiles in May.

"The freedom of Ukraine is also the freedom of Europe," and the more time the German government spends "assessing" the situation, "the more people die," Strack-Zimmermann commented on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The letter emphasized that Kyiv "has assured us in personal discussions that this weapons system will be used exclusively on Ukrainian territory."

"We see no reason to doubt this commitment," the MPs wrote.

Media reports emerged over the summer that the German government is hesitant to deliver the air-launched missiles, which have a range of up to 500 kilometers, due to concerns that they will be used in strikes on Russian territory.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba emphasized in August that Taurus missiles would be "used solely inside our borders."

There are currently 600 Taurus missiles stored in German military depots, Der Speigel reported.

Read also: Kuleba says there is progress in talks on getting Taurus missiles

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