While Germany argues about Taurus and freezes the war in Ukraine, other countries create facts. And at the same time they are embarrassing the European Union to the core.

As a reminder: Brussels recently had to admit that it would not be able to fulfill its grandiose promise to supply Ukraine with a million grenades in its defensive battle against Russia.

EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Joseph Borrell said the figure could reach half a million by spring. So far, Brussels has delivered and purchased 300,000 pomegranates.

Another country is much more successful. And the reason probably lies in the activation of old contacts from the Soviet era. According to their own statements, the Czechs managed to acquire 1.5 million shells on the world market.

“If you come with a bag of money, they are interested”

Czech officials told the Wall Street Journal that they have traveled around the world to negotiate supplies with countries that own or produce munitions. There are also countries that have officially sided with the Russians.

“If you come with a bag of money, they are interested and the Czech Republic is perceived as a neutral country, unlike the United States,” the WSJ quoted the director of the Center for European Values ​​and Security Policy, Jakub Janda. as he says he.

The first shipment of pomegranates to Ukraine is expected to take place in the coming weeks. The purchase of 800,000 grenades, of which 300,000 of Soviet production, is now certain.

Prague has identified 700,000 more and they can be purchased. Germany is considered the main financier of Europe.

The debate about Taurus is not over yet

The WSJ revelation shows that there is a surprise lurking around every corner. Things are coming to light that little or nothing was known about in politics. The debate on Taurus is not over yet, although the Chancellor has shouted “enough”.

About 20 years ago, the Spanish acquired Taurus medium-range missiles after a series of terrorist attacks in the country. According to reports from military experts, Ukraine has now asked if a delivery is possible.

In this context, it is interesting to see a recent speech given by the Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, who is a socialist.

In it he talks about an unforeseen Russian danger, including the possible use of nuclear weapons, and his conclusion is to help Ukraine more than before. Also with Taurus?

Scholz has varied his argument about Taurus several times

Military expert Fabian Hoffmann, who researches rocket technology and nuclear strategy at the University of Oslo, estimates that the chance of this happening is “zero point zero percent”: Olaf Scholz would have to grant Spain export permission. in the Federal Security Council.

And a delivery of the German-made Taurus from Spain would not change “Scholz's nightmare scenario,” says Hoffmann: that politically sensitive targets in Russia would be attacked from Ukraine with the help of German missiles.

Olaf Scholz has varied his argument about Taurus several times. Do you need German soldiers for Taurus? Does the identification of the target have to be carried out from German soil, from Büchel, where the American nuclear missiles are also stored?

What matters is whether Taurus will be able to achieve his goals in Moscow? He was always reduced to an imminent “escalation” that the Chancellor wants to avoid.

Since the Taurus leaks, conversations of senior German officers intercepted by the Russians, the general public knows that there are two versions of the Taurus: one that is technically less complex and probably only has a range of 300 kilometers.

And the “full team”, which can fly very low under enemy radar and has a range of 500 kilometers. To do this, the Taurus must receive a large amount of data.

Military experts speak of a “smoke candle”

And special technical equipment is needed, which Germany, as discussed at a secret meeting of the Defense Committee, could not deliver without weakening.

However, military experts describe this as a “smoke gun”, an interpretation followed by many Greens who, unlike the Social Democrats, are in favor of equipping Ukraine with Taurus.

In fact, as strategy professor Frank Sauer points out, technical instructions for goal planning from the manufacturer of the Taurus system exist on the Internet, although they are already a few years old.

It is also noted that Taurus is a “modular” system. Does “modular” mean that the Bundeswehr's most dangerous weapon can also be equipped with nuclear weapons?

There is also a lot of movement in the “freezing” debate

There is almost nothing about it, apart from a request from left-wing MP Sevim Dagdelen to the federal government, stating that this variant of the nuclear weapon is a fact, “the federal government is aware of…”.

Secretary of State for Defense Hitschler gives the answer, and it is not: this question cannot be answered “openly”, because the answer affects the security of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Beyond weapons and ammunition: in the political debate there is also a lot of movement on the issue of “freezing”, raised by the leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Rolf Mützenich.

Former chancellor Gerhard Schröder praises the chancellor for his “non-Taurus” and the parliamentary group leader Mützenich, who with his “freezing” variant is “on the right track.” Green Party leaders Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour see Schröder's rankings as a throwback to old social-democratic and pro-Russian reflexes.

Russian war crimes documented in UN report

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock counters Mützenich's “freezing” with the war crimes committed by the Russians, documented in detail in a UN report, a horrifying list that also brutally describes mass rapes. According to the Foreign Minister of the Greens, whoever reads this will no longer be able to talk about “freezing”.

So you're right: freezing the war in Ukraine would also mean freezing conditions in Russian-occupied areas in violation of international law, including ongoing and flagrant violations of human rights, from torture to child abduction.

While SPD president Lars Klingbeil supports his party colleague Mützenich, SPD foreign politician Michael Roth goes against his party leader.

“There is no thaw. Not peace. Nowhere”

In Georgia and Moldova, in South Ossetia and in Transnistria, one can study how uneasy supposedly frozen conflicts are taking place. “Eastern Europe is plagued by frozen conflicts, as Siberia is plagued by permafrost,” analyzes Roth. “There is no thaw. Not peace. Nowhere. “Russia is destabilizing everywhere.”

This is likely to get even worse after Putin's “electoral” victory. His first statement on Sunday night was along the lines of: Now I have free rein. For the next six years.