Within the next 12 weeks, the German Rheinmetall Group plans to open a plant for the production of armored vehicles in Ukraine, despite the concerns other Western defense companies in the country have about the ongoing armed conflict with Russia.
Germany’s largest arms maker will also train Ukrainians to maintain the tanks and other armored vehicles made in the factory, which will be located in the western part of the country, CEO Armin Papperger told CNN in an exclusive interview.
"[Ukrainians] have to help themselves — if they always have to wait [for] Europeans or Americans [to] help them over the next 10 or 20 years… that is not possible," he said.
According to Papperger, factory workers will build and repair Rheinmetall’s Fuchs armored personnel carrier — named after the German word for fox — under license in the facility.
Rheinmetall (RNMBF) will operate the plant in partnership with Ukroboronprom, a Ukrainian state-owned defense group, which will also own the facility. In May, the companies announced an agreement to boost Ukraine’s "defense technology capacities."
For now, Papperger said, sourcing more ammunition was a bigger priority than building more tanks.
According to him, Rheinmetall will ramp up its annual production of artillery rounds from 100,000 to 600,000 next year, and much of that extra output will be earmarked for delivery to Ukraine.
In theory, he added, Rheinmetall could provide 60% of the artillery ammunition Ukraine needs.
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