MEP Mecola calls on Germany to provide Ukraine with TAURUS missiles

Against the backdrop of intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine, European Parliament Speaker Roberta Mecola called for the speedy delivery of German TAURUS cruise missiles to Ukraine, UNN reports citing DW.

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In an interview with the Funke Group, Metzola answered in the affirmative to the question whether the EU countries, like the United States, support allowing long-range missiles to be used for targets in Russia and whether Germany should supply Ukraine with TAURUS missiles.

"Yes, this is the position of the European Parliament. This demand is widely supported. Let's see if this will lead to a corresponding change of course after the Bundestag elections," Metsola said.

She noted that such a change of course may occur earlier, as "there are different positions in the Berlin coalition regarding the delivery of TAURUS.

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The newspaper notes that Chancellor Olaf Scholz has long rejected the TAURUS delivery. He fears that Germany could be directly involved in a war between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Free Democrats and the Greens are in favor of supplying such missiles to Ukraine. The debate has intensified again in recent days after US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use US ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 km to strike deep into Russia. TAURUS has a range of 500 km.

Roberta Mecola noted that Ukrainian soldiers urgently need help. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, she said, rightly emphasized that Ukraine cannot wait indefinitely for large-scale military assistance just because some Western country is holding elections, while people are dying in the war in Ukraine every day.

She expressed concern that Russia was escalating the war and intensifying missile strikes that were causing numerous civilian casualties. On November 21, Russia fired a new medium-range hypersonic missile at the Dnipro River. This strike was apparently intended to be a deterrent to the West.