Minister is “tired”
Pistorius can no longer listen to the Taurus debate
January 31, 2024, 8:43 p.m
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There has been debate for months about possible deliveries of Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine. Federal Defense Minister Pistorius is tired of the discussions, as he made clear in the Bundestag. With its negative attitude, Kiev’s hopes are likely to sink even further.
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has criticized the dispute over the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. The SPD politician said he was “tired” of the ongoing debate during budget discussions in the Bundestag. Although Germany is Ukraine’s second-largest supporter, the only discussion is about a special weapons system – “as if it were a matter of whether we deliver everything we can or whether we also take a bit of freedom and responsibility for ourselves in making this decision meet”.
The Taurus is one of the Air Force’s most modern missiles and can destroy targets such as a bunker complex, even from great heights and distances. Kiev had repeatedly requested the long-range missiles because they could give the country an advantage in the fight against the Russian invasion.
The cruise missile is difficult for enemy air defense to detect and therefore difficult to combat. It is primarily designed to destroy immobile and heavily fortified targets, such as command bunkers or bridges, which have high strategic value and hit the enemy severely.
Fear of reaction from Russia
However, at the beginning of October, Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided not to deliver the weapon to Ukraine for the time being. The fear behind this is that because of the range of 500 kilometers, Russian territory could be hit with German weapons and that Germany would be drawn into the conflict.
In contrast to Scholz, the Greens and the FDP are pushing for the delivery of these cruise missiles. According to reports, both factions would like to include the demand for Taurus release in a joint traffic light motion on Ukraine, which the Bundestag is expected to pass in February.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group warns the coalition against backing away from this plan: “If you are serious about Ukraine, then this must be decided here in the German Bundestag,” warned Union parliamentary group vice-president Johann Wadephul.
2.1 percent of economic output for defense
During the budget debate in the Bundestag, Pistorius welcomed the fact that with record spending of 72 billion euros, the NATO requirement of spending at least two percent of economic output on defense was met for the first time in decades. Specifically, it is 2.1 percent, including billions in payments from the Bundeswehr special fund, which was set up with a volume of 100 billion euros after the Russian attack on Ukraine.
“This is going in the right direction and it is appropriate to the seriousness of the situation,” said Pistorius, referring to the Russian war of aggression that has lasted almost two years since then. He warned again that “Putin’s imperialist ambitions” would not end with Ukraine, but that Putin wanted to “continue to push boundaries.” Therefore, German support for Ukraine must continue.
According to a report by “Spiegel”, the Bundeswehr is threatened with a financing gap of 56 billion euros from 2028, when the special fund is no longer available. The magazine cited an internal financial needs analysis by the Defense Ministry. Pistorius did not address the report in his speech. However, speakers from the Union accused the government of trickery in financing the armed forces.