Day 694 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Germany Delays Sending Taurus Missiles To Kyiv

Day 694 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Germany has again delayed sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine
• Ukraine's military said it shot down 22 of a total of 33 Russian drones that attacked the country last night
• Russian military says it shot down Ukrainian drones over Moscow and Leningrad regions
• The Ukrainian president called on his compatriots to take the initiative in the war with Russia into their own hands
• Sergey Lavrov said that the military agreement between London and Kyiv will not prevent Moscow from achieving its goals
• Leaders of the US Senate and Congress are optimistic about financial aid for Ukraine and Israel
• At least 250 Western companies have supplied Russia with weapons parts
• Medvedev: Until Ukraine enters a unified state with Russia, eternal war awaits it
• The great enemy of Russia - Ukrainian "gender neutral" toilets

Germany has again delayed sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine

The German parliament rejected late on Wednesday a proposal submitted by the conservative opposition to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, DPA reported.

Almost all MPs from the governing tripartite coalition voted against the project. This development may seem puzzling given that two of the three parties that are part of the government - the Greens and the Free Democratic Party - have been calling on Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz for months to send the missiles. Ukraine can use them to strike deeper into Russian-occupied territories...