Why Germany isn't sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine

The Taurus cruise missile is one of the most powerful weapons in the German army's arsenal, and has been at the top of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's wish list for a long time. However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats (SPD), continues to reject exports of the weapon to Ukraine.

With a warhead that can penetrate bunkers, the Taurus cruise missile has a range of 500 kilometers (300 miles) and can be fired by a fighter jet. Ukraine wants to use it to attack positions inside Russia from which President Vladimir Putin's military is bombing Ukraine. Russian rocket fire on cities in Ukraine has recently increased again.

The debate was reignited in Germany again after US President Joe Biden — just two months before the end of his term in office — reportedly decided to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles produced in the United States against targets in Russia. Biden is said to have changed his mind partly because Russia has persuaded North Korea to send thousands of soldiers to fight in the war.

In view of Ukraine's precarious military situation, more and more people are now calling for Germany to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine. However, these can fly significantly further than the American ATACMS missiles, which Ukraine may now use for the first time in the next few days to attack targets in Russia.

Vote in Bundestag?

There has been a renewed push for such deliveries from the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which two weeks ago triggered new elections by leaving Scholz's coalition. The party wants to take this to the Bundestag: It is considering putting a motion to parliament for a vote before the early federal election on February 23.

One of the most vehement German supporters of the Taurus delivery is Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the European Parliament for the FDP. Referring to Biden's decision, she wrote on the social media platform X: "I hope that Chancellor Olaf Scholz will have the same belated realization at the end of his term of office in the interest of Europe's security. If he is true to his word that he will act together with his allies, then he must finally act now."

The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the largest opposition party in the Bundestag, also supports the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. There is also approval from the Greens, the only remaining coalition partner of the SPD: Robert Habeck, economy minister and his party's chancellor candidate, said he would deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine if he were leading the government.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a fellow Green, also reacted positively to reports that Biden is allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles against specific targets in Russia, which she said would allow Ukraine to potentially destroy military launch bases from which it is being attacked. Some places in Ukraine are so close to the Russian border that air defense is of no help, the foreign minister said.

So far, the government has only allowed Ukraine to use German weapons in the Russian territories bordering the city of Kharkiv, which has repeatedly come under heavy fire from the Russian side.

Scholz says 'no'

Though there are many voices in favor of delivering the Taurus, Scholz remains categorically opposed to delivering the weapon system. He argues that Germany runs the risk of being drawn into the war between Russia and Ukraine if the Taurus cruise missiles are used. "We must not be linked in any way or at any place with the targets that this system achieves," he said.

Scholz sees no reason to reconsider this position, his spokesman said on Monday, reaffirming what the chancellor said in his government declaration Wednesday. Scholz continues to receive backing for his course from his party. The delivery of Taurus is out of the question, said SPD leader Saskia Esken: "We will stick to that."

In March, the CDU parliamentary group brought a motion calling for the deliveries before the Bundestag. At the time, the parliamentary groups of the SPD, Greens and FDP voted against it unanimously — in face of opposition from FDP politicians Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann and Wolfgang Kubicki. The motion failed.

Should the FDP table another motion and should it be adopted, it would still be nonbinding. It is not the Bundestag that decides on arms deliveries, but the Federal Security Council, a secret Cabinet committee chaired by the chancellor.

This article was originally written in German.

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