Defence contractor Rheinmetall says Germany orders 20 more fighting vehicles for Kyiv

Germany has tasked arms maker Rheinmetall with supplying another batch of 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Ukraine over the coming months, the company said on Tuesday. The 20 Marders come on top of 40 vehicles that Berlin already rushed to Ukraine, with 20 coming out of military and industry stocks each.

Germany has tasked arms maker Rheinmetall with supplying another batch of 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Ukraine over the coming months, the company said on Tuesday. The contract has a volume in the "mid-double-digit" million-euro range, a spokesperson for Rheinmetall told reporters in Unterluess in Lower Saxony, where the company operates one of its biggest factories.

The 20 vehicles will come out of Rheinmetall's stocks of old Marders and be restored over the coming months, he added, noting this would leave the company in the possession of 60 Marder IFVs that could still be refurbished. The 20 Marders come on top of 40 vehicles that Berlin already rushed to Ukraine, with 20 coming out of military and industry stocks each.