Armaments group Rheinmetall wants to open an armored vehicle factory in Ukraine within the next twelve weeks.
Rheinmetall will also train Ukrainians to service tanks and other armored vehicles built at the factory, CEO Armin Papperger said in an interview with CNN.
“[Die Ukrainer] have to help themselves – if they always have to expect Europeans or Americans to help them in the next 10 or 20 years, that’s not possible,” Papperger told American television, as reported by CNN on its website.
In March, Papperger told the Rheinische Post that he was in talks to build a tank factory on Ukrainian soil. A Rheinmetall factory could be set up in Ukraine for around €200m, which would produce up to 400 Panthers a year. The plant now planned is to build and repair Rheinmetall’s Fuchs infantry fighting vehicle, as the CEO told CNN.
Rheinmetall will operate the plant in partnership with Ukroboronprom, the Ukrainian state defense company, which will also own the facility. In May, the two companies announced an agreement to strengthen Ukraine’s “defense capabilities”. At the time, the cooperation was said to include the maintenance and repair of armored vehicles in Ukraine, while preparations were made for building tanks.
At the moment, getting more ammo is a higher priority than building more tanks. Rheinmetall will increase its annual production of artillery ammunition from 100,000 to 600,000 next year, and much of this additional production is earmarked for delivery to Ukraine. In theory, Rheinmetall could provide 60 percent of Ukraine’s needed artillery ammunition, he added.
FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)