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BERLIN (Reuters) – German defense company Rheinmetall plans to open a munitions factory in Ukraine as part of a joint venture with a Ukrainian partner, it said on Saturday.
Rheinmetall, one of the world's largest producers of artillery and tank shells, began to increase production after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which faces a serious shortage of ammunition and whose troops have been forced in recent days to withdraw from the devastated eastern city of Avdiivka.
The German company signed a memorandum of understanding at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday to jointly build and operate the new factory with a Ukrainian partner, whose name it did not mention.
The factory in Ukraine will produce a six-figure number of 155mm caliber bullets per year, Rheinmetall said, but did not say when production would begin or where the facility would be located.
Rheinmetall will own 51% of the new company and the remaining 49% will belong to the Ukrainian partner.
The German company is already involved in a joint venture in Ukraine to service and repair Western weapons sent to help Kiev defend itself against Russia. It also plans to build armored vehicles in Ukraine.
