German parties urge government to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles

German politicians from the opposition and the coalition party have called on the government to supply Ukraine with cruise missiles.

Berlin should "immediately" provide Kyiv with long-range Taurus missiles, a Bundestag deputy from the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Roderich Kiesewetter, has said, according to DW.

He noted that the Bundeswehr has 600 Taurus in service, of which about 450 are not ready for use in combat operations, but can be modernised by MBDA and prepared for shipment to Ukraine.

In his turn, Markus Faber, an expert from the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which is a member of the ruling coalition, recalled that the Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully used the Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK. He said this shows the importance of this type of weaponry for Ukraine, which is defending itself against a Russian full-scale invasion.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeyev, also called for the Taurus to be provided to the Ukrainian armed forces, asking "this time to shorten the discussion part and thus save human lives," recalling the long debates in Germany about the provision of other weapons, in particular Leopard tanks.

However, the German Defence Ministry confirmed its refusal to supply Ukraine with missiles. A spokeswoman for the ministry pointed to a statement by the country's defence minister, Boris Pistorius, who made it clear that the Taurus would not be supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces.