German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is building a military and logistics maintenance center in Satu Mare, Romania, which is expected to start operating this month, to repair weapons used by Ukraine in the war against the Russian invasion, the company said on Sunday.
"This service center will play a central role in maintaining the operational readiness of the western combat system used in Ukraine, ensuring the availability of logistical support," a spokesman for the company said.
The service center, which is located near the border with Ukraine, will serve self-propelled howitzers, Leopard 2 and Challenger tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Fuchs armored transport vehicles to military trucks.
"This is a major concern for us at Rheinmetall to provide the best support for NATO and Ukrainian forces," CEO Armin Righterger said in a statement.
Before Ukraine, Rheinmetall also set up a similar center in Lithuania in June 2022 to provide support to NATO vehicles in Baltic countries.
Separately, Rheinmetall is reportedly in negotiations to build a tank factory in Ukraine, according to the Rheinische Post newspaper last month, citing an interview with CEO Armin Rightlerger.
Rheinmetall is known to make ammunition, military equipment, and Leopard tanks decided to be delivered to Ukraine, the result of joint production with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.
"A Rheinmetall plant can be set up in Ukraine at a cost of around 200 million euros (212.64 million US dollars), which can produce up to 400 Panthers per year," forgetherger was quoted as saying. Panther is the company's newest combat tank model.
"Talks with the Ukrainian government are promising and I hope there will be a decision in the next two months," he added.
ungerger said that although the Western Allies sent enough weapons for Ukraine to defend themselves, Kyiv did not have enough equipment to retake their territory.
He said Ukraine needed 600 to 800 tanks and the construction of new tanks had to start quickly to reach that number.
"Talks with the Ukrainian government are promising and I hope there will be a decision in the next two months," he added.
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