German Rheinmetall says it will produce 600,000 shells a year for Ukraine
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is ready to produce 600,000 shells a year for Ukraine, the concern’s chairman Armin Papperger told the Handelsblatt newspaper.
He spoke about this after European Commissioner for Industry Thierry Breton visited the Rheinmetall plant in Unterlüs (Lower Saxony), the BBC reports.
The publication reminds that the EU has promised to provide Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells in a year. Breton said that this task must be solved quickly, as intense fighting continues and the Ukrainian army may run out of ammunition.
According to the publication, it is not easy for European countries to increase the production of shells, as after the Cold War, arms companies reduced their respective capacities.
The EU will allocate 500 million euros to restore production, and another 500 million will be provided by individual EU countries. Later, it is planned to spend another 1 billion euros on ammunition production.
On Friday, the European Commission announced that the scheme to supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition had been finalized.
The EU’s official website states that the funds will be used to produce 155-mm shells and, if necessary, rockets.
