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Ukrainian troops arrive in Germany for howitzer training

Rebecca Staudenmaier
May 11, 2022

Around 60 Ukrainian soldiers have arrived in western Germany to begin training on the howitzer 2000 artillery system. The German government has pledged to send seven of the self-propelled weapons.

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German soldiers drive a Panzerhaubitze 200 during a military exercise in Germany
Over the next 40 days, the troops will train with the Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery system at a training site in western GermanyImage: Philipp Schulze/picture alliance

Ukrainian soldiers began howitzer training at a German artillery school on Wednesday, where they will spend the next weeks learning how to use the heavy weapons before they are sent to Ukraine, German media reported.

The move comes amid a major policy turnaround by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, which faced criticism from Kyiv and other allies for not sending heavy weapons to Ukraine.

What do we know about the training?

The service members landed on Tuesday evening after being flown out from Poland, the dpa news agency reported, citing government sources. 

Over 60 Ukrainian soldiers are taking part in the training, along with technical experts and translators, according to dpa.

Training is set to last around 40 days and will take place at the German military's artillery school in Idar-Oberstein in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, local public broadcaster Saarländischer Rundfunk reported.

The German-built self-propelled Howitzer 2000 models are operated by five soldiers each.

What is the Howitzer 2000?

The model Ukrainian troops will be training on is an armored self-propelled 155-mm caliber artillery gun, whose 60 rounds can be fired at a rate of three rounds every 10 seconds.

Targets can be destroyed at a distance of 30 to 56 kilometers (19 to 35 miles), depending on the ammunition. The German firms Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall supplied the first howitzers to the Bundeswehr in 1998 and continue to produce more advanced versions.

The howitzer can travel at speeds of up to 60 km/h, has a road-range of about 420 kilometers, and can ford waters up to a depth of about 1.5 meters. It is designed to follow motorized formations and provide them with fire support.

According to Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, the Bundeswehr has about 100 howitzers in its inventory, of which about 40 are operational.

Chancellor Scholz has now promised Ukraine seven howitzers, but they would first have to be made operational, which is expected to take until the summer.

The German government has also pledged to send several anti-aircraft "Gepard" flak tanks to Ukraine, although these must also be made operational again.

Contributed reporting from DW's Christoph Hasselbach.

Edited by: Rob Turner