German manufacturer Rheinmetall in talks to build tank factory in Ukraine

The Panther KF51 tank of the German company Rheinmetall, May 31, 2022. © Wikimedia Commons CC BY SA 4.0 Rheinmetall Defense

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The German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, which notably produces a large number of tanks, is in negotiations with kyiv for the construction of an arms manufacturing plant in Ukraine.

Russia takes the threat seriously.

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Armin Papperger, the boss of Rheinmetall, plans to produce the Panther directly in Ukraine, reports our correspondent in Berlin,

.

The Panther KF51 assault tank is one of the most modern in the world.

This brand new jewel of the destruction industry is currently not part of the military equipment of any army in the world.

Rheinmetall hopes to complete the “promising” negotiations with the government of Volodymyr Zelensky within two months.

For 200 million euros of investment, Rheinmetall could manufacture 400 Panther per year.

The factory would be protected by an anti-aircraft defense system.

600 to 800 machines would be necessary for Ukraine to win the war, according to the president of Rheinmetall.

A quantity that Westerners will not be able to provide so easily to their ally, in the opinion of the manufacturer.

Russian threat of heavy-handed response

After procrastinating for a long time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave the green light at the end of January to sending Leopard tanks, a flagship of German armament, to Ukraine.

Berlin, which wants to provide a total of 18 Leopard 2A6 tanks from Bundeswehr stocks, is coordinating a coalition of countries whose objective is to send two battalions of 31 Leopards to Kiev and in which Sweden, Finland, Portugal or Poland.

Rheinmetall projects are taken seriously in Moscow.

Former President and number two of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has already threatened to celebrate the eventual opening of the plant "

Kalibr 

and other devices pyrotechnics

 ”, in a message on his Telegram account.

► To read also: Report - War in Ukraine: facing the Russians, harassed tankers and obsolete armored vehicles

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