Rheinmetall, the German arms giant, will build a factory in Ukraine to produce a “six-figure number” of 155 mm caliber shells.
This Saturday, the day after the signing of a bilateral security agreement between Germany and Ukraine, German arms maker Reinmetall announced an agreement with a Ukrainian company to form a joint venture to produce munitions. Artillery in Ukraine, which the country urgently needs. In the face of Russian forces. OBJECTIVE: To produce every year A six-digit number » Shells of caliber 155 mm, including corresponding propellants. For security reasons, neither the name of the Ukrainian partner, nor the location of the future factory, nor the start date of production, have been communicated.*
joint venture
51% owned by Rheinmetall and 49% by a Ukrainian partner, this joint venture will provide “ A significant contribution to Ukraine’s defense capability and thus will serve security in Europe “, announced Rheinmetall boss Armin Pepperger. According to him, the value of the current project with Ukraine is “ Several billion euros, and their number grows almost daily “
For Reinmetall, this is the second joint venture in Ukraine, after it signed last October with the Ukrainian public company UDI, formerly Ukroboronprom, dedicated to the repair of military vehicles, the first step before producing them directly on site.
Produce up to 700,000 artillery shells per year in 2025
Last Monday, in the presence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a groundbreaking ceremony was also held for the future mission factory in Unterluss (North), within Germany’s main Rheinmetall defense industrial complex. The unit will produce 155 millimeter artillery ammunition from 2025, the standard NATO artillery ammunition used in many cannons and howitzers, gradually aiming for a capacity of 200,000 shells per year. In total, Reinmetall wants to produce 700,000 artillery shells per year in 2025, compared with 400 to 500,000 this year, across all its sites in Europe. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it produced only 70,000.
Although billions of euros worth of weapons have been delivered to Ukraine by EU countries since the start of the Russian invasion, they have still not reached sufficient capacity to sustainably support the country and rebuild their own stocks. Germany has long been a bad example, Olaf Scholz recently admitted, because arms policy is “ It was conducted as if she were buying a car.” While defense industries need long-term planning to invest in new capabilities.
In the future, ” The United States wants to produce one million shells per year, and Europe two to three million thanks to alliances between European partners. », recently explained Armin Pepperger. By the end of March, the Europeans will have supplied only half of the million shells promised to Ukraine last year.
The Rheinmetall complex in Unterlüss already produces 120 mm shells for Leopard 2 tanks, which are used on the Ukrainian front. From 60,000 parts produced per year before 2022, that rate has increased to 240,000. But with thousands of shots being fired every day, Ukrainian troops have very high and urgent needs to try to repel the Russian offensive. And the armies of European countries have their own niches to fill. After years of underinvestment, the German military is out of stock and its ammunition needs are estimated by Rheinmetall to be around 40 billion euros.
Zelensky’s appeal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday made an urgent appeal to his Western allies to deliver more military equipment to the country, emphasizing long-range weapons after Russia’s most successful victory yet. More significant in eastern Ukraine. If the leader was stunned by the forced withdrawal of troops from the Ukrainian town of Evdivka announced overnight, he showed none of it during his speech to the Munich Security Council in Germany on Saturday.
But his message is clear: “ Our actions are limited only by the quantity and scope of our range of forces – which are not dependent on us. », he told officials gathered for this high-level meeting of world diplomacy, as Ukraine enters its third year of war.
“We can get our land back. And Putin may lose. This has happened more than once on the battlefield,” he argued.
He lamented that Ukraine was “held at a disadvantage in artificial weapons, especially in artillery and long-range capabilities.” This lack of ” allowing Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war “Kiev has been asking its allies for months for long-range weapons capable of hitting Russian troops deeper.
A problem that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz carefully avoided on Saturday. ” Step by step we always decide the right thing at the right time “, he replied, meaning that the delivery of these weapons was not on the agenda.
kyiv wants taurus
Kyiv wants Berlin to arm it with the Taurus, one of the German Air Force’s most modern and effective missiles. The German government is reluctant, fearing that Russian territory will also be affected by these precision weapons, possibly leading to an escalation of the conflict. Olaf Scholz recalled that Germany – the second contributor in absolute value after the United States – was a major supporter of Ukraine’s defense and proved it again on Friday by signing a long-term bilateral security agreement. Aid to Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a similar document with France, during a trip to Paris, where Emmanuel Macron promised Kiev Up to three billion euros “Military Aid” extra ” This year.
Germany plans seven billion in aid to Ukraine for 2024, including a new package of arms deliveries worth 1.1 billion euros detailed on Friday. But the situation in the United States is still blocked: kyiv has been hoping for months for a vote on the crucial aid of about 60 billion dollars, decided by Joe Biden’s government and blocked by the Republican opposition under the influence of Donald Trump. American Vice President Kamala Harris tried to reassure Volodymyr Zelensky during an interview in Munich, where she had met him two years earlier, “ Five days before the Russian invasion “, she recalled.
On aid to Ukraine, “ There is bipartisan support. (…) We are steadfast. And it has nothing to do with the election cycle », said Kamala Harris who warned against. Political games In the middle of the campaign for the November presidential election in the United States.
There is American aid Important »
Ukrainian President called ” Important » American aid on hold. His European tour was overshadowed by the announcement of the death in prison of Vladimir Putin’s number one rival, Alexei Navalny, ending any hope of an opening in Moscow. If Ukraine is once again at the center of discussion at the Munich conference, the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas, the humanitarian devastation in the Gaza Strip and the threat of escalation in the Middle East also occupy the participants. Complex negotiations are underway for a ceasefire, including the further release of Hamas hostages and Palestinians held by Israel. Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahmane al-Thani, whose country is one of the main mediators in the negotiations for the release of the hostages, is scheduled to speak on Saturday.
