Rheinmetall appeals to Ukrainians after CEO says Ukrainian drones are "housewives' work"
The German arms company Rheinmetall said it was inspired by the Ukrainians' fight against the aggressor and the innovative power of the state. This was a response to a statement by CEO Armin Papperger criticizing Ukrainian drones. This is stated in the company's message on its X-account on Sunday, March 29.
Rheinmetall emphasized that every Ukrainian makes an invaluable contribution to the defense against russian aggression. The company expressed respect for the efforts of the Ukrainian people.
"It is to Ukraine’s particular credit that it is fighting highly effectively even with limited resources. The innovative strength and the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people are an inspiration to us. We are grateful to be able to support Ukraine with the resources at our disposal," the statement said.
Recall that in an interview with The Atlantic, Papperger stated that Ukraine has no technological breakthrough and compared manufacturers to Lego and "housewives with a 3D printer."
"They don’t have some technological breakthrough. They make innovations with their small drones, and they say, ‘Wow!’ And that’s great. Whatever. But this is not the technology of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, or Rheinmetall," said Papperger.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in August 2025, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said, that the pace of construction of an ammunition plant in Ukraine is not moving as fast as he would like, and blamed the Ukrainian bureaucracy for this.
As a reminder, at the beginning of June 2024, Rheinmetall, a company for the production and repair of armored vehicles, started operating in Ukraine.