Rheinmetall announced when its ammunition manufacturing plant in Ukraine will begin operations.

The Rheinmetall ammunition factory in Ukraine, which was announced for construction in February 2024, is set to begin operations in 2026.

This was revealed in an interview with DW by Rheinmetall AG's CEO, Armin Papperger.

“We are constructing factories in Germany faster than in Ukraine. The reason is that bureaucratic barriers in Germany have been virtually eliminated. For instance, we received permits for a factory producing components for the F-35 and the largest ammunition factory in Europe located in Lower Saxony within just a few weeks,” emphasized Papperger.

According to him, the process in Ukraine is currently slower. However, overall cooperation with Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Industry is progressing well.

“We decided to establish a company with a 51% stake in Rheinmetall, which was previously impossible in Ukraine – state enterprises were required to hold the controlling stake. But I stated that I would only invest if we had the controlling stake. This process took several months. Nevertheless, we are satisfied with the collaboration. The first factory to start operations was for repairing equipment, and now an ammunition factory is under construction, while we would like to build a plant for producing anti-aircraft systems as the third facility. The ammunition factory will only commence operations in 2026. As I mentioned, we have faced delays,” added the head of the German defense consortium.

When asked how the war affects production processes, he replied: “Practically not at all; we are not on the frontline. The main combat activities are taking place there. Yes, there are missile strikes; you know this better than I do. But one can prepare for this. It does not affect production itself.”

Papperger was also asked if Rheinmetall would be ready to invest even more actively in Ukraine if the war ends this year. “We keep our word. Our strategy is to build three factories in Ukraine, and this does not depend on whether there is a war or not,” he responded.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that it was confirmed by NATO that there was a Russian plot to assassinate the CEO of the German arms consortium Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger.