Supplies began in October, in total the Ukrainian Armed Forces received 48 vehicles.
Journalists from the Russian-language service of the German channel BILD conducted an investigation and established that the German Ministry of Defense transferred BATT UMG armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, unsuitable for combat operations and at inflated prices.
This is stated in the publication's article.
It is noted that at the end of May the German government announced the supply of 66 APC armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, produced by the German concern FFG. These armored personnel carriers weighing 10 tons were developed in the USA. They are produced in different countries of the world under an American license. Supplies began in October. In total, the Ukrainian Armed Forces received 48 vehicles.
According to BILD, they turned out to be absolutely unsuitable for the front line in Ukraine and generally for use in combat conditions.
“They have thin plating and do not have mine and fragmentation armor against artillery, rocket and mortar fire. The supplied APCs protect only against hand-held weapons and are suitable for rear operations,” the message says.
BILD open data analysis expert Julian Repke found out that the German Ministry of Defense initially chose between light vehicles from FFG and heavy Fuchs from Rheinmetall. The first ones were chosen, arguing “as the most economical solution, which is also quickly available.”
It’s interesting that the German Ministry of Defense refers to Kyiv, saying that “enhanced countermeasures protection was not required by Ukraine at that time.” Meanwhile, an anonymous Ukrainian official told BILD that “of course we would like mine-protected vehicles,” but “the German side did not offer them.”
As we found out during the investigation, the German FFG transferred orders for all 66 vehicles to the American contractor The Armored Group (TAG). As a result, all armored personnel carriers were assembled at the TAG plant in the UAE. From there the armored cars were delivered to Ukraine with a stop in Germany. Not a single armored personnel carrier was assembled in Germany. State contract prices were inflated three times: on the world market, APC armored vehicles from TAG cost about 200,000 euros, and the German Ministry of Defense paid for them 600,000 euros for one car.
Recall that German Chancellor Scholz commented on Germany’s lack of supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
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