- German Bundestag to hold debate on delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine
- Debate comes shortly before second anniversary of Russian invasion
- Parties both in Scholz's three-way coalition and opposition calling for more weapons to Kyiv
- Conservative CDU/CSU brings motion explictly urging delivery of Taurus missiles
Expert to DW: Taurus 'different' from UK's Storm Shadow, France's SCALP
While Germany has been debating the delivery of Taurus missiles for months, the UK and France have already supplied Ukraine with similar weapon systems — the British Storm Shadow platform, and its almost identical French counterpart SCALP.
Both Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles have a range of over 250 kilometers.
Taurus, however, can hit targets up to 500 kilometers away with great precision.
Thomas Wiegold, a journalist and security expert, told DW that the Taurus and Storm Shadow systems are "pretty similar, but still different."
"Taurus has a much longer range and is much more resistant against GPS jamming and spoofing," he explained, pointing out that this means it increases the chances for Ukraine to reach strategically significant goals like destroying the Kerch bridge, which links Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been reluctant to supply the weapon system to Kyiv despite pressure from both opposition parties as well as members of his own coalition.
Given Taurus' long range, Wiegold said there are fears that the missiles "might reach Russia proper, and that’s something the chancellor urgently wants to avoid."
What have Ukrainian leaders said about possible German Taurus deliveries?
Ukrainian leaders have been urging Germany and other international partners to provide Kyiv with weapons and air defense systems, in particular long-range weapons.
On Thursday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said it is now time for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to finally send Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Klitschko said "one of the most important questions" for his country was whether Germany would supply the requested cruise missiles, the German DPA news agency reported.
"We are defending our country. And that's why we need Taurus. We can use it to destroy the Russians' military logistics," he said.
Klitschko said he ultimately expects a positive decision from the German government.
"Germany has finally woken up and is helping us a lot," Klitschko said of Scholz's early reticence to send other powerful weapons to Ukraine.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said last month that Kyiv was in talks with Berlin over the supply of the weapons.
He stressed that Ukraine was seeking the advanced missiles to strike Russian military infrastructure on occupied Ukrainian territory, not to hit targets in Russia.
"We don't need a Taurus to attack Moscow," Kuleba emphasized in an interview with the news outlets Bild, Welt.tv and Politico.
What are the reasons for the debate?
As the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine looms, and following a stalled Ukrainian counteroffensive, German lawmakers are piling pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to do more to help Ukraine defend itself.
One of the most prominent measures being floated by politicians in Berlin is the delivery of high-precision Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. The missiles are capable of hitting targets up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) in distance.
Scholz is reluctant to provide the weapons to Ukraine, amid fears of escalation.
Scholz's coalition currently consists of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), business-focused Free Democratic Party (FDP), and environmentalist Greens.
On Thursday, parliamentary groups belonging to the coalition seek to introduce a joint motion calling for the delivery of "additional, necessary long-range weapons systems and ammunition" to Ukraine. The coalition draft, however, does not explicitly mention the delivery of Taurus weapons to Ukraine.
The center-right opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Conservative Social Union (CSU) are also putting forward a motion to the Bundestag on Thursday, which explicitly calls for the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
One prominent member belonging to a party in the ruling government, FDP parliamentarian and chair of the Bundestag's Defense Committee Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, has expressed support for the CDU/CSU Taurus motion.
sri/wd (AFP, dpa)