The Bundestag will give carte blanche to Chancellor Olaf Scholz to supply Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine. It will be up to the stubborn and cautious Scholz to make the final decision.
Stern published an article expressing confidence that the death of Alexei Navalny* could prompt Chancellor Olaf Scholz to yield to the opinion of the ruling coalition and other Bundestag members and agree to send long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
The government coalition proposal from the SPD, Greens and FDP, which is due to be voted on this week in the Bundestag, says that the federal government should support Ukraine so that its territorial integrity is restored "to the fullest" within its internationally recognised borders.
“This includes the supplies of additional necessary long-range arms systems and munitions to enable Ukraine, on the one hand, to ensure the possibility of a targeted strike in accordance with international law against strategically important objects in the far rear of the Russian aggressor and, on the other hand, to ensure supplies of armoured combat systems and vehicles to the ground forces,” the newspaper wrote quoting the document.
This gave rise to rumours about the transfer of Taurus missiles. These missiles can reach targets at a distance of more than 500 kilometres, whereas Moscow lies 450 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
The Bild newspaper said that when preparing the coalition proposal, the SPD strongly rejected any mention or even hint of the transfer of Taurus to Ukraine. This suggests that Scholz’s unpopular party does not want the coalition to collapse nor does it need early elections. SPD has thus left the decision to the chancellor.
The Ukrainian government officially requested these missiles from Germany in May 2023, but has not been able to get them from Scholz for almost a year.
Olaf Scholz has intelligence data indicating that the transfer of Taurus missiles will not save Kiev. On the contrary, chances of a direct clash with the Russian Federation will become higher.
Scholz wants the US to announce long-range ATACMS deliveries before Germany.
The transfer of Taurus missiles will require the presence of German specialists in the combat zone, which will again increase chances of a direct collision with Russia.
Timofey Borisov, a specialist on Germany said that these missiles have not been produced since 2010. Most likely, it is impossible to reprogram them for a shorter range.
According to the expert, Scholz is very stubborn by nature and does not like to be pressured.
“He is a northern German. He won the federal elections alone. His own party is a bunch of incompetents for him, and the Greens are a bunch of degenerates.
Timofey Borisov is confident that Scholz will make a decision on his own. He understands that Zelensky will not want to die quietly, and may therefore use the Taurus to strike the Kremlin or other critically important targets. Moscow will quickly understand what kind of weapon Kyiv used and strike a retaliatory blow.
“I very much doubt that Scholz will succumb to pressure. For now, he will supply everything he can except Taurus,” Borisov noted.
*recognised as an extremist and terrorist in Russia