The Dusseldorf-based German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall this week announced that it has completed delivery of twenty more 20 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Ukraine.
But its relationship with Kiev has gone much further, becoming among the very first major European arms companies to open a factory in Ukraine. This has provoked outrage among Kremlin officials, who are now warning that military action could be taken against the Rheinmetall plant.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters in a briefing that “A plant of Rheinmetall, a German arms manufacturer, launched in Ukraine, is a legitimate military target for the Russian Armed Forces.”