A repair facility for Leopard 2 tanks and other German-made hardware supplied to Kiev by the West for use in its conflict with Moscow will commence operations in Ukraine after this summer, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger has said.
“We want to start operations after the summer break,” Papperger told Der Spiegel magazine on Friday. Rheinmetall is “already training Ukrainians in Germany for this job,” he added.
The businessman didn’t say exactly where in the country the facility will be located.
At the moment, Leopard 2s can only be repaired outside Ukraine, and the proposed center will reduce the distance that damaged tanks have to be transported, the report said.
However, Der Spiegel also pointed out that there were security concerns associated with the project.
Rheinmetall first announced plans to invest some $200 million in a production and repair facility on Ukrainian territory in March. Since then, several Russian officials have warned Berlin against going forward with the plan.