German lawmakers have voted against a motion proposed by the opposition to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, two years into the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
While German legislators supported further assistance to the war-ravaged ex-Soviet republic, they refused to endorse an opposition-drafted motion to arm Ukraine with German-Swedish air-launched cruise missiles.
The Taurus missile, launched from a fighter jet, boasts the capability to deliver a warhead weighing nearly half a ton to targets up to 310 miles (approximately 500 kilometers) away, including the Russian capital, Moscow, which lies approximately 450 kilometers from Ukraine's border.
During a speech at the Bundestag lower house, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius labeled Putin's Russia as the greatest security threat to Europe and affirmed Germany's commitment to counter it with all available resources.
Despite Germany's status as the second-largest donor of military assistance to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has resisted pressure, both domestic and foreign, to arm Kiev with Taurus missiles. Scholz cited concerns that such assistance could escalate the conflict globally.
Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, Germany has supplied Leopard tanks and IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine. Additionally, Britain and France have sent Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles to the country.
Russia, which launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine, has repeatedly warned the United States and its Western allies against involvement in the conflict, asserting its willingness to use any weapon in its arsenal to protect its security. Moscow has accused the West and NATO of directly contributing to the conflict by providing advanced weapons and military equipment to Ukraine.
In a separate development, Russian President Vladimir Putin took a flight on a modernized Tupolev Tu-160M nuclear-capable strategic bomber on Thursday, a move that could be interpreted as a demonstration of Russia's nuclear capabilities to the West. The Tu-160M, also known as "Blackjacks" by NATO, is a modernized version of a Soviet-era heavy bomber capable of delivering weapons over long distances. Putin praised the aircraft's reliability and modern features, emphasizing its significance to the Russian Air Force.
