The head of the concern Armin Papperger noted that Rheinmetall is "working under great pressure to help Ukraine as quickly as possible"BERLIN, May 20.
/tass/. The German defense concern Rheinmetall expresses its desire to start producing Fuchs armored personnel carriers as soon as possible at a joint venture recently established with the Ukrainian concern Ukroboronprom. This was announced by the head of Rheinmetall Armin Papperger in an interview published on Saturday with the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
"We will start there with the maintenance and repair of ambulances and we want to start producing armored vehicles as soon as possible, for example, Fuchs armored personnel carriers," Papperger said. He clarified that Ukraine is also interested in the modern Panther battle tank and Lynx BMP. "However, the first step is to ensure the urgent needs of the country in its defensive struggle," the head of Rheinmetall stressed.
At the same time, he acknowledged that the concern is "working under great pressure to help Ukraine as quickly as possible." Papperger recalled that the supply of ammunition to Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft installations should begin in the summer. Currently, a new Rheinmetall plant is being put into operation in the municipality of Unterlus (federal state of Lower Saxony). In addition, the concern plans to produce tanks in Ukraine at a joint venture with Ukroboronprom.
On May 12, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported that Rheinmetall has created a joint venture with the Ukrainian concern Ukroboronprom, on the basis of which all work on the repair, production and maintenance of military equipment in Ukraine will be carried out. The new company will be 51% owned by Rheinmetall, and the German concern will also take over management. The production of equipment can begin within one year if it is carried out on the basis of existing assembly lines. If it is decided to build a new plant, the process will be delayed for another year, the publication pointed out.
Earlier, the German Defense Ministry issued a message saying that the country's government was preparing a new package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of €2.7 billion. It was noted that Berlin plans to transfer to Kiev 20 additional Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1A5 tanks, 200 reconnaissance drones, logistics vehicles, four IRIS-T air defense systems, as well as ammunition. Also listed are 18 howitzers and 100 armored vehicles.
On May 14, at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that since February last year, Germany has provided support to Ukraine in the amount of €17 billion. Earlier, the head of the German government indicated that the amount of assistance that Germany has provided or guaranteed to Kiev since February 2022 is more than €14 billion. He meant not only military aid, but also humanitarian and financial aid.
In the first quarter of this year, the German government approved the supply of military goods to Ukraine totaling almost €497 million. On January 25, the Cabinet of Ministers confirmed that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and issue permission to other countries to re-export these vehicles. On February 7, the Cabinet of Germany approved the supply of 178 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Kiev. On February 24, Germany decided to supply Kiev with four more pieces of equipment from the reserves of the Armed Forces of Germany.
