Joint application planned
Traffic light factions want to get Scholz up to speed at Taurus
February 20, 2024, 5:56 a.m
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Since May last year, the Chancellor has had Ukraine’s request for Taurus cruise missiles on the table. Since then nothing has been decided, let alone delivered. Now the coalition factions are increasing the pressure. Even if the T word isn’t mentioned at all.
In the dispute over the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, pressure is growing on Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The coalition factions want to jointly call on the federal government in the Bundestag to deliver more weapons to Ukraine – systems that reach far behind the Russian front line.
In the draft for a joint coalition proposal, the Taurus, which Scholz has so far resisted, are not mentioned by name. The paper by the group leaders, which is available to the magazine “Stern”, calls for “the delivery of additionally necessary long-range weapon systems and ammunition in order to enable Ukraine (…) to carry out targeted attacks on strategically relevant targets far away in accordance with international law “to enable the Russian aggressor’s rear area”. The Bundestag factions are meeting internally today. So far, the SPD faction in particular has been considered very cautious in the Taurus dispute.
According to “Stern”, the proposal from the SPD, Greens and FDP will be put to a vote in parliament this week. The formal occasion is the tenth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
How the claim is justified
“In particular, Ukraine must continue to be in a position to carry out attacks on military targets such as ammunition depots, supply routes and command posts far behind the front lines and to protect its soldiers as best as possible from the diverse attacks of the Russian military,” says the draft application the faction leaders. “The Bundestag therefore welcomes the deliveries of guided missiles from our French and British partners to Ukraine. The use of precise stand-off weapons for national defense is compatible with international law and indispensable for the protection of Ukraine.”
Great Britain and France have long been supplying Ukraine with virtually identical Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles. However, these are not considered as precise and powerful as Taurus.
Taurus cruise missiles are fired from aircraft. They are a type of self-guided rocket. They can hit targets up to 500 kilometers away with great precision. Moscow is a little less than 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border as the crow flies, i.e. within Taurus range.
How Scholz has acted so far
The government of Ukraine 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, the SPD politician evaded 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.
Scholz had also initially resisted the delivery of Leopard 2 main battle tanks for a long time: in January 2023 he gave in after the USA had promised to deliver Abrams tanks, and they were delivered in March.
What the coalition partners want
The FDP and the Greens have long been campaigning to give Ukraine the opportunity to attack Russian supply lines behind the front with Taurus weapons. According to information from the German Press Agency, the two smaller government factions wanted to include the specific Taurus demand in a joint traffic light application on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th. Now it seems to be a slightly toned down version without mentioning the name Taurus. Immediately before the security conference and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj’s visit there, Green Party leader Omid Nouripour stepped up the pace again: “It’s right that Ukraine should get a decision. Soon. Because it’s been pending for a very long time,” said he last week.
What else is in the application
“Ukrainians must also be put in a position to oppose the aggression of Russian President Putin in the longer term. This is an indispensable, clear message to the Russian president, who is obviously counting on the international support for Ukraine to weaken,” he said it in the draft application. “The European Union should set itself the goal of being able to ensure long-term support for Ukraine through its own efforts.”
There are also calls for Ukraine to be “further strengthened by supplying armored combat systems and protected vehicles.” The paper also contains a number of demands on the federal government of a political, economic and legal nature: for example, to support further sanctions; to advocate for the activation of frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine; to support the documentation of international crimes; Recommend that ministries name Ukrainian names and places in Ukrainian instead of Russian spelling.