Germany's Bundestag votes to provide Ukraine with long-range weapon systems
The vote took place on Thursday, February 22, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
During the roll-call vote, 382 deputies voted for the resolution "Ten years of Russia's war against Ukraine - resolutely defending Ukraine and Europe," 284 voted against it, and two abstained.
At the same time, the resolution does not specify which long-range weapon systems are in question. At the same time, German deputies earlier on Thursday rejected the requirement from the opposition's CDU/CSU bloc to transfer Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, said that while preparing the document, some German MPs "meant" the Taurus missiles while others did not.
During the debate, German lawmakers called Russia's attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022 "the most drastic step to date in an increasingly aggressive policy against free and democratic Europe in recent years." They also pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin was waging this war to stay in power and implement his imperial superpower fantasies.
The deputies noted in their speeches that if the Russian leadership is not stopped, it will try to continue its imperial policy outside of Ukraine. In view of this, it is necessary to support Ukraine in its right to freely choose alliances and move towards NATO membership.