The resolution, proposed earlier in the day by the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), urged the left-green coalition government to "finally and immediately supply Ukraine with the greatest possible number of operational Taurus cruise missiles."
Many lawmakers from the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) voted against the resolution despite having continuously called for deliveries of Taurus missiles to Kiev in the past, German broadcaster n-tv reported. Their decision was mainly driven by their unwillingness to support the opposition as well as the fact that the resolution was proposed for parliamentary discussion of the annual report of the Commissioner for German Bundeswehr Affairs.
On Tuesday, CDU leader Friedrich Merz described the position of Ukrainian troops on the battleground as "critical." Kiev has "no prospect" of pushing Russian forces back to reverse their gains, Merz was quoted as saying by the n-tv broadcaster.
The main issue with the supply of Taurus missiles is their range of 500 kilometers (311 miles), which makes them capable of striking deep inside Russian territory. Germany has previously not supplied Kiev with weapons with similar characteristics. The German expert community has even discussed whether the missiles could be programmed so that they could not be used to strike on Russian territory. It was precisely this issue that interested German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and therefore negotiations were allegedly held with representatives of the military industry, Der Spiegel newspaper reported.