Ukraine has long demanded delivery of the Taurus, an ultra-modern long-range missile that would allow it to strike Russian rear bases. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s partners in Germany’s ruling coalition are now urging him to give the green light.
2 mins
Gone are the days when the German Greens rejected any arms sales to countries at war. Today it is this party once known for its pacifism which is most virulently demanding the delivery of Taurus missiles to kyiv. “ The most effective protection against Russian air attacks is to target targets on Russian territory and in occupied areas, from where Russia launches its attacks », Estimates Sara Nanni, the spokesperson for the Green defense group in the Bundestag, in a daily interview Rheinische Post. “ The hesitations, insists the politician, come from the chancellor himself and do not reflect the position of the coalition. »
The Taurus is one of the most modern missiles of the German Air Force. The weapons are able to find their target even at high altitudes and at great distances, and can, for example, destroy bunkers. Olaf Scholz decided at the beginning of October not to deliver them for the moment. This decision was motivated by the fear that Russian territory would also be affected by these precision weapons with a range of 500 kilometers.
Like Sara Nanni, several political leaders are now urging the Chancellor to give his approval to the delivery of these cruise missiles, in the face of Russia’s deadly bombing of several Ukrainian cities, including the capital kyiv, since the start of the year. Promise to help Ukraine for as long as necessary “ seems cynical when Europe » delivers to him « certainly enough for it not to lose, but not enough for it to liberate its entire territory », criticized MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the FDP liberals also allied to the government, who has been calling for the sending of Taurus to Ukraine for several months.
Olaf Scholz’s position is becoming more and more untenable, especially since the conservatives in opposition are also demanding the delivery of Taurus to Ukraine. Questioned on Wednesday, its spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit indicated that the government’s position had not changed. “ We observe the situation and act accordingly “, he said during a regular press conference.
Read alsoRussian bombings in Ukraine: “Moscow has the same objectives but has changed strategy”
(With AFP)