German MPs Demand That Scholz Give Ukraine Taurus Missiles
Members of the German Bundestag have written a letter to German Сhancellor Olaf Scholz and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius demanding that Ukraine be supplied with long-range Taurus missiles.
As Tagesschau reports, the letter was signed by Marie-Agnes Straka-Zimmermann (Free Democrats), Anton Hofreiter (The Greens) and Andreas Schwarz (Social Democratic Party of Germany).
On the eve of the next meeting of the Contact Group, known as the Ramstein format, the MPs stated the need to provide Ukraine with further commitments to help it fight Russia.
"In particular, Ukraine needs Taurus cruise missile systems in service with the Bundeswehr in order to target Russian military logistics," the letter reads.
The MPs stressed that representatives of the Ukrainian government had assured them in personal conversations that these missiles would be used exclusively on the territory of Ukraine.
"We see no reason to doubt this promise," they continued, adding that Germany should continue to supply air defence equipment, ammunition, medical equipment and armoured vehicles, especially battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.
At the same time, the letter says, it is particularly important to ensure the sustainability of Ukrainian troops.
"This requires, among other things, spare parts for the systems already delivered and support in the repair of these systems," the letter says.
The German government has not yet decided whether to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.
At the same time, Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Minister of Ukraine, is convinced that the transfer of Taurus missiles from Germany to Ukraine is only a "matter of time".