NATO officials believe Moscow is behind an alleged plan to shoot down Dusseldorf-based Rhinemetall, a major supplier of military equipment to Ukraine.
“Particularly, high-level killings against non-Russian civilians — that’s definitely an increase,” said Lauren O’Loughlin, an analyst at security intelligence company Dragonfly.
As Russia’s war effort moves into its third generation, the emphasis is on traveling to some of the hands-on production in Ukraine itself. On a day when several Western defense groups have announced their aim to shift repair operations to Ukraine, Rhinemetall has publicly gone ahead of many competitors in setting up local factories.
Speaking to the Financial Times after the men were charged with murder, Papperger said he felt “safe”, and reaffirmed his loyalty to the transfer of some gun manufacturing to Ukraine. He said that Rhinemetall would “very soon” begin producing 155 mm shells in the more protected west of the country.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday denied any conspiracy, which was first reported by CNN. “All this is being served in a more fake style, so you can’t take the news seriously,” Peskov said.
However the possibility of Western CEOs being on the Russian confrontation list underlines the explanation as to why many Western corporations were uncertain in deciding to have a significant production presence in Ukraine.
“At present the actual industrial presence is limited; At most it is helping Ukraine maintain products on the ground,” said Chloe Lemire, defense industry analyst at Jefferies, the funding storage facility. “But there are a number of discussions ongoing with Ukraine in terms of possible help after the high intensity phase of the war ends.”
Defense contractors believed that Lahar’s thinking was around “light touch” involvement in field and construction relations, with a heavy presence in the country being considered too poor.
“We want to support them and help rebuild their industrial base,” said an official from the ECU defense company.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 heralded growth for defense companies, particularly in Europe, where defense spending has increased to noticeable levels since the end of the Cold War. The companies were engaged in the production of ancient supplies ranging from automobiles to munitions to hardware including radar.
However, Western governments want to reduce Ukraine’s dependence on NATO allies for military supplies and reduce the age of equipment reaching the front lines, as the Ukrainian military suffers from severe shortages of ammunition and artillery in particular. Is.
When the Western defense giant announced it would set up local manufacturing in Ukraine, Russia reacted. After Moscow threatened to destroy Rhinemetall’s Panther tank manufacturing facility in Ukraine, Papperger revealed plans to build a manufacturing unit there.
The Kremlin also threatened the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems The following September it announced it might transfer some operations to Ukraine, with Peskov saying that any facility producing weapons against Russia would receive “special attention for our military. “Can become the subject of.” ,
Trevor Taylor, a research fellow at the Royal United Products and Services Institute, a London-based defense think-tank, said building a manufacturing facility within Ukraine could be fraught with headaches, from security to ensuring an efficient supply chain of components.
“A weapons factory would be the primary target,” he said. That said, finding expensive insurance coverage and booking locations can be a big headache.
Nonetheless, Ukrainian officials have pushed to establish joint ventures with Western defense corporations.
United Kingdom companies BAE and Babcock each promised to begin setting up some repair and service operations within Ukraine in this generation, promising to bring additional assets back to the front line temporarily.
KNDS, a joint venture between France’s state-owned Nexteer and Germany’s Cross-Maffei Wegmann, which makes munitions, armored automobiles and Caesar howitzers, signed a deal in Ukraine in early June to formalize its subsequent move. A series of commitments were signed when President Volodymyr Zelensky visited. Paris.
These days the crowd maintains a general presence in the field of making alternative parts for automobiles with Ukrainian partners, and continues to look for local teams to pursue alternative work. A spokesman for the gang said it planned to inaugurate a repair center in Ukraine by the end of the generation.
The company also has a joint venture with Ukraine’s state-owned conglomerate Ukroboronprom, which already operates and repairs military vehicles in the neighborhood.
One by one, the Czechoslovak team, which manufactures ammunition and alternative military equipment, is considering signing some manufacturing three-way partnership assurances in Ukraine.
Taylor of the Royal United Products and Services Institute said Ukraine’s ambitions to help Western companies shape its defense business grew due to hesitations in US funding and loyalty over time, with the multibillion-dollar aid package announced. , who remained stuck in politics for several months. There was an impasse in Washington until approval was achieved in April.
“Although US support finally came this year, it left them feeling insecure about what might happen in the future,” he said.
“We are a creative and reliable partner that you want to have in your group during difficult times,” Ukraine’s Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, who has been a prominent negotiating partner with Western companies, told the Financial Times last year. Was. “We don’t want to keep asking for (aid) money.”
Alternative reporting via Max Seddon in Riga