The CEO of a German defense giant is calling for continued western support for Ukraine, saying Ukrainians will lose if they stand alone.
Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall, gave an interview to NHK on Thursday at the company’s headquarters in Dusseldorf.
The company develops and manufactures a variety of military equipment and supplies. They include the Leopard-2 battle tank, which was provided to Ukraine to fight Russia. Western nations order weapons and ammunition from the company for delivery to Ukraine.
NHK asked Papperger if US media reports in July that Russia was planning to assassinate him were true.
He said he got the information from the Secret Services and he feels well protected by the German police.
He said the Ukrainians are not able to produce everything by themselves if the western NATO countries do not help them.
He said the Ukrainians are getting fighter jets and ammunition but they need new supplies. He said, “We should not stop, we have to continue to deliver it.”
He stressed the importance of sustained support amid financial distress and support fatigue among Western nations.
He also referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “Victory Plan”. He said it’s a plan to enforce Western allies to give the Ukrainians more power.
Citing an estimate that European countries’ ammunition production capacity is half of Russia’s, he said it would take five to seven years to match this.
Papperger said regardless of who will win the US presidential race, Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, Europeans would be subjected to high pressure to invest more in defense. He said Europe always depended on the United States over the last 25 years. He said without the US, it has become hard to protect countries. He added, “We have to do our homework.”