The leader of the German Green Party called on Berlin to increase aid to Ukraine and transfer Taurus
The leader of Germany's opposition party, Alliance 90/The Greens, Franziska Brantner, has called on the federal government to provide Ukraine with more air defence systems and to transfer long-range Taurus cruise missiles. She said this in an interview with the German news agency dpa.
According to Brantner, Russian President Vladimir Putin does not seek peace, but wants subjugation. She accused the Russian leadership of war crimes for striking Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure in winter, stressing that attacks on civilian targets are deliberate and not accidental consequences of hostilities.
Brandtner stressed that Kyiv has the right to demand additional support in air defence, and that Germany, together with its European partners, must assess how quickly Ukraine's capabilities can be strengthened. Separately, she called the supply of Taurus missiles, with a range of over 500 kilometres, an important political signal of support.
She also recalled that the current chancellor, Friedrich Merz, supported the idea of transferring Taurus missiles to Ukraine when he was in opposition, but since taking office in May last year, he has refrained from making public statements in favour of such a decision.
In addition to the issue of armaments, the Green Party leader called for stronger measures against Russia's shadow tanker fleet and renewed attempts to make more effective use of Russian assets frozen in EU banks.
Brandtner's statement came amid intensified diplomatic contacts. On 23 and 24 January, Ukraine and Russia held face-to-face talks in the United Arab Emirates for the first time in several months and announced their readiness to continue consultations next week.
Greens, Germany, Franziska Brantner, Friedrich Merz
