Rheinmetall has repaired 16 Marder BMPs for Ukraine, but cannot hand them over to the AFU yet
The German company Rheinmetall has repaired 16 Marder infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine, but unfortunately, it cannot hand them over to the Ukrainian armed forces yet.
Here's What We Know
This was reported by the German publication Tagesschau. The fact is that the transfer of BMPs is blocked by the German government, hiding behind the agreement of NATO that members of the alliance will not supply heavy weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have long had American armored personnel carriers M113 and British FV103 Spartan. It is unclear whether it will be possible to reach an agreement with the FRG. At the same time Rheinmetall has already proceeded to repair 14 more BMPs. In total the German defense company can find for Ukraine more than 70 such infantry fighting vehicles.
Flashback
The Marder is a German tracked infantry fighting vehicle. It is in service of the Bundeswehr since the 1970s. The BMP has many modifications and accommodates up to 10 people. The Marder boasts a sealed hull made of armor plates of several varieties up to 30 mm thick. They protect the front of the BMP from 20mm and 25mm bullets from a distance of 200m, and the sides from shrapnel and 7.62mm small arms. The armament is a 20mm RH 202 automatic cannon and a 7.62mm MG3 machine gun in tandem with it. There is also a machine gun on the roof of the troop compartment.
Source: Tagesschau
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