Lynx armoured fighting vehicles manufactured by the German defence giant Rheinmetall will be produced in Ukraine. This was announced by Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger on 11 June at the Ukraine Recovery Conference as part of a panel discussion on the development of the Ukrainian defence industry.

"We are now successfully building not only good relations but also product lines. Yesterday I was in Ukraine and we opened our first factory in Ukraine. We are repairing infantry fighting vehicles there, and later we will repair howitzers there. But the most important thing we have agreed on is that at the end of this year we will have the first infantry fighting vehicle made in Ukraine,’ said Armin Papperger.

According to him, the German people support the provision of financial assistance to Ukraine, but it needs to be increased and a longer-term cooperation should be planned, ‘and now we have a strategy for 6, maybe 12 months. This is not enough if you are waging a war against Russia, a very dangerous counterpart. I really hope that this will not happen, but if Ukraine loses, Europe will have a very large-scale problem." 

He noted that an increase in the budget to help Ukraine will allow for the creation of larger joint ventures between European and Ukrainian companies, and this will be the key to success.

As part of the partnership between UOP and global defence giant Rheinmetall, the first armoured vehicle repair and production workshop has been launched in Ukraine.

Armin Papperger and Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshyn also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand strategic cooperation. The agreement aims to identify and develop further areas of closer cooperation between the Ukrainian defence industry and the Düsseldorf-based technology group.

The conference, jointly hosted by Germany and Ukraine on 11-12 June in Berlin, brought together leaders from a number of governments, international organisations, business and civil society to discuss the rapid recovery and long-term reconstruction of Ukraine.

Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Alexander Kamyshin and CEO of Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC Herman Smetanin were speakers at the session ‘Partnership for Strengthening Ukraine's Future Arms: Ukraine's Defence Industry as a Key Driver of Resilience and Recovery". They talked about the growth and innovative capabilities of the industry, attracting investment, including in international cooperation projects, and sharing experience in developing innovative projects. 

"The Ukrainian defence industry has been in decline for decades. But today it is reviving. We need to produce more and more weapons, and this will never be enough. That's why we launched the ZBROYARI: Manufacturing Freedom project, in which we urge our partners to purchase Ukrainian-made weapons for the Ukrainian army. We also have many successful cases of cooperation between international companies and Ukrainian ones. 

The defence industry makes a significant contribution to Ukraine's economic recovery. We are very grateful for the assistance we receive from our partners - the countries represented here today. And of course, we will share the lessons we have learnt with our partners. One day, Ukraine will join the EU and NATO - and both organisations will have a strong partner with a strong defence industry that does not compete, but complements. At that point, the defence capability of Europe and NATO will become much stronger. Let's build the Arsenal of the free world together,’ said Alexander Kamyshin.

The political part of the panel, dedicated to general visions of the development of Ukraine's defence industry in the context of global security, was attended by Dr Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, and Nusrat Ghani, Secretary of State for Europe and North America, UK.

The second part of the panel was devoted to specific cases of the defence industry in the context of capacity development, partnerships with foreign companies and adaptation to wartime operations. Natalia Kushnerska, CEO of the Brave1 defence cluster, Yevgeny Yakovlev, Chief Investment Officer of Skyeton, an aircraft manufacturing company, Joachim Finkielman, Director of the Defence Industry Unit, Confederation of Danish Industry, took part in the panel. Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger and BAE-Systems Ukraine CEO Christian Seear spoke about the positive experience of cooperation with Ukrainian companies.

"I am very grateful to our allies for their help in Ukraine's fight for independence against the Russian Federation. Our companies have to face a number of challenges: increasing production and developing new products in the face of a full-scale invasion, working in blackouts, physical security of employees and businesses, moving the most critical processes to underground facilities and the need for increased funding.

Expanding production capacities and further adapting our products to the needs of the Ukrainian Defence Forces is the biggest key to the successful operation of defence companies,’ said Herman Smetanin.