Taurus next? Bundestag welcomes decision on F-16 transfer to Ukraine
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Head of the Bundestag Defense Committee (Photo: Getty Images)
The Bundestag welcomed the decisions of the Netherlands and Denmark regarding the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and called on the German government to consider supplying long-range cruise missiles Taurus, reports Deutsche Welle.
"I am very pleased that Denmark and the Netherlands have promised this (F-16s - Ed.) to Ukraine," said the Head of the Bundestag Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann.
She reiterated her call for the German government to quickly approve the decision to supply Ukraine with the long-range cruise missiles Taurus.
According to her, the fact that the Netherlands and Denmark have decided to supply fighter jets to Ukraine refutes concerns that Kyiv might use Western weapons to attack Russian territory.
"It is clear that there is no evidence that Ukraine could attack Russian territory," she said.
Strack-Zimmermann added that, for the German government, this should be a sufficient reason to give the green light for the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine right now.
"We have enough Taurus cruise missiles. We can supply some of them. They are ready for use," she said.
The Head of the Bundestag Defense Committee believes that these missiles could be used to disrupt and destroy Russian supply routes in the war against Ukraine.
F-16s for Ukraine
Recently, the United States approved the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands after pilot training is completed.
It is already known that the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with 42 fighter jets, and Denmark will provide 19 more.
Taurus missiles
The media reported that Ukraine officially requested Taurus missiles from Germany, but Berlin hesitated to transfer them.
Recently, German journalists wrote that support for transferring Taurus missiles to Ukraine is growing in the German government and parliament.
According to the Spiegel publication, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to make technical modifications to the missiles to prevent strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russian territory, but this does not apply to the territory of occupied Crimea.
