Rheinmetall's Service Center in Romania for Western Tanks Given to Ukraine

German armsmaker Rheinmetall is opening a maintenance center in Romania for Western military equipment used by the Ukrainian armed forces.

“It is a central concern for us at Rheinmetall to give the NATO forces as well as Ukraine the best possible support in this critical situation,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said.

The “service hub” is being built near Satu Mare in northern Romania, close to the border with Ukraine and Hungary. It is set to become operational before the end of April.

Rheinmetall said in a statement that the center will “play a central role in maintaining the operational readiness of Western combat systems in use in Ukraine and in ensuring their logistical support.”

West-supplied equipment such as Leopard 2 battle tanks, self-propelled howitzers, Marder IFVs, Fuchs armored transport vehicles, and military trucks could all be serviced at the new hub.

Papperger said last month that Rheinmetall was currently repairing 50 Leopard 2 tanks and 100 Leopard 1 tanks, and planning to buy 36 Leopard 2s from Switzerland.

He also shared the details of plans to build a tank plant in Ukraine. The company has shared construction concept with the German government. The decision of the Ukrainian government is needed to start construction, since the plant will not belong to Rheinmetall. The company will rent it. At the end of last week, a delegation of the German armsmaker Rheinmetall visited Kyiv and met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In June, Rheinmetall set up a facility in Lithuania in partnership with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) to provide logistical support for NATO combat vehicles.