Ambassador Makeiev shares impressions of visit to tank training ground in Germany
Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, Oleksiy Makeiev, shared with Ukrinform his impressions of visiting the tank training ground in Munster on Monday, where German instructors teach Ukrainians how to operate Marder IFVs and Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks.
"There are both Marder and Leopard on the test site. They will all be sent to Ukraine. That is, this is exactly the hardware that will be deployed on the battlefield. They are studying their new equipment," Makeiev said without specifying the number of Ukrainian soldiers who are currently undergoing training.
The ambassador assured that the soldiers are in good spirits and in a combative mood. He also joked that there he is not sure who is an instructor and who is a trainee: the Germans explain the tactics of operating their tanks, they are well versed in this technology and theory, while our soldiers talk about combat use and realities on the battlefield.
"They engage in great discussions. It feels like they are real brothers in arms," said the ambassador, who witnessed how the Ukrainian crews fired the first shots operating the Leopard tanks.
"The guys admitted that they were a bit anxious. But technology makes training really simple and efficient. We talked with them about these tanks being extremely effective in fighting the Russians," Makeiev said.
The Ukrainian ambassador was invited by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to join him on a visit to the training ground as the two spoke a month ago at a Ramstein base, where the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was held. "The minister is a man of his word, so our trip did take place," the ambassador noted.
The diplomat also spoke about his contacts with defense industry officials. In particular, in the past two weeks, Makeiev met with Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger four times, including, during the Munich Security Conference, where Ukrainian and German foreign ministers, Dmytro Kuleba and Annalena Baerbock, met with representatives of the two countries’ defense firms.
"We have major plans. We will set up joint production of weapons, I’m sure of that," the ambassador said.
As reported, on February 20, Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited the tank training base in Munster together with Ambassador Oleksiy Makeiev and Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko. The head of the Bundeswehr confirmed plans to transfer the promised armored vehicles – 14 tanks and 40 IFVs (20 from the army reserves and the same amount from Rheinmetall stocks) by the end of March. By the same time, the training course for Ukrainian crews will have been completed. Later that day, Pistorius visited the Rheinmetall facility together with its top manager, discussing the production of ammunition and equipment for Ukraine.
Photo: @BMVg_Bundeswehr
