Olaf Scholz is under increasing pressure – not only in the EU but also in his own country.
Despite this, more and more politicians are talking publicly about considering the idea.
Responding to questions from lawmakers on Wednesday, he said he considered it irresponsible to deliver weapons to Ukraine up to 500 km away without involving German troops.
“Prudence should not be considered a weakness. For me, the supply of long-range weapons, for fair use, German soldiers must participate, even if they are outside of Ukraine, this is not in question. A line that I do not want to cross as chancellor…” I think it's necessary,” he said.
What do the Germans say about this? Polls show that A majority of the community (61%) supports the president on this issue – Only 29 percent admit to handouts.
However, leading representatives of the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which are allied with Scholz's Social Democrats from the SPD, have a different view.
Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner disagrees with the chancellor's reasoning and still hopes he will change his stance, a person familiar with the minister's views told Bloomberg. Lindner says it is technically possible to limit the range of the missiles so that they cannot reach the Russian border.
Lawmakers in favor of sending Taurus to Ukraine have the support of Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck, another person familiar with his position told Bloomberg. He added that the minister was irritated by Scholes' decision.
And Annalena Baerbach, the foreign minister and representative of the Greens, recently publicly called on the ruling coalition to “investigate” the issue of Taurus births. “The facts are absolutely clear,” he said, adding that Kiev must provide “all means” to protect its territory and population.
From records intercepted by the Kremlin, A record of conversations between Luftwaffe generals suggests that the Berlin Taurus could be sent to Ukraine without involving the German armed forces. In turn, Ukrainians could be trained to operate them in Germany.
During Wednesday's hearing in the Bundestag, Jens Lehmann of the CDU/CSU faction pointed out that neither Spain nor South Korea – countries where the Taurus are present – host Bundeswehr soldiers on their territory. Ukraine, according to Lehman, can do without them.
Russia fears that Ukraine will acquire Taurus missiles – said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, head of the Security Committee in the Bundestag and member of the FDP. In his opinion, Moscow is trying to force the German defense minister to resign from the most important generals and strengthen the chancellor's decision not to supply Ukraine with missiles.
“Russia is afraid of missiles and poops on its clothes,” he said.
