Rheinmetall Responds to Russia's Threats of Attacking the Company's Plant
The Chairman of the German defense conglomerate Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, stated that the company will not alter its plans regarding the establishment of a facility in Ukraine, despite the declaration made by Russian MFA representative Maria Zakharova, who deemed such an object a "legitimate target" for the Russian military.
Papperger announced this in an interview with Bild.
Earlier, the Russian diplomat Zakharova warned that if Rheinmetall constructs a plant on Ukrainian territory, the site would be regarded as a legitimate military target for the Russian armed forces.
In response to the Russian official's statement, the CEO of Rheinmetall emphasized that the company will by no means abandon its intentions to build a facility in Ukraine. Furthermore, Armin Papperger intends to safeguard the plant using Rheinmetall's own air defense systems.
"For Rheinmetall, it is of utmost importance to support our Ukrainian partners in their struggle for freedom and democracy and to promptly meet their urgent needs," Papperger emphasized.
As known, Rheinmetall and the Ukrainian "Ukroboronprom" plan to establish a military enterprise that will produce ammunition, armored vehicles, and Panther combat tanks.
The facility's capacity is expected to enable the production of approximately 400 combat tanks annually, along with repairing Fuchs-type armored vehicles.
At the beginning of July, the plant's CEO stated that the enterprise will be inaugurated within the next 12 weeks.
Rheinmetall is one of the largest defense conglomerates globally. The plant manufactures armaments for the Bundeswehr and is considered the primary supplier of 120mm tank ammunition for the German Armed Forces.
It is worth mentioning that earlier this month, the Bundeswehr placed a new significant order for the production of 120mm ammunition, thereby expanding the existing agreement with Rheinmetall to 4 billion euros.
Furthermore, Rheinmetall has repeatedly received orders for repairing, manufacturing, and delivering various types of military assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces. One recent order for Ukraine included the transfer of "comprehensively repaired" 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks, concluded between Rheinmetall and the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark.