Taurus missiles for Ukraine: Bundestag fails to vote again

This is reported by Ukrinform.

The roll-call vote was held not at the request of the opposition, but on the recommendation of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, which recommended rejecting the proposal. 495 MPs voted in favor, 190 voted against, and 5 abstained.

The vote was preceded by an hour and a half of debate. In their speeches, MPs, even those from the Greens and Liberals, who are part of the ruling coalition, mostly supported the idea of giving Ukraine long-range missiles. However, during the voting, these two parties were forced to adhere to coalition discipline and vote against the bill together with the Social Democratic Party. The day before, in the Bundestag, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is a member of the SPD, categorically rejected the possibility of transferring these missiles to Ukraine.

The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany and the left have also opposed the deal, constantly calling for a halt to all arms supplies to Ukraine, which they believe will open the way for peace talks.

The parties of the democratic center - both the coalition and the opposition - emphasized that internal political quarrels play into the hands of Russian propaganda, Putin, who is trying to sow discord in Western democracies and increase divisions by using the topic of assistance to Ukraine.

Several government ministers attended the debate, including German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

• On February 22, members of the German parliament did not support the supply of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. At that time, 182 voted in favor and 480 voted against. Five more abstained.