Sending EU arms back for repairs stalls Ukraine war effort

"They're the best and most precise ones, in my opinion," the Ukrainian artilleryman Bohdan Nahaj told DW. He was talking about the Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PZH 2000), the German self-propelled armored howitzers supplied to his brigade, which are helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia's war of aggression. But the division commander acknowledges that there's a problem: The howitzers are used so intensively that they tend to break down.

The most common issues are software failures, and overheating of the control systems and gun barrels. At times, Nahaj said, as many as two-thirds of the German howitzers may be out of action as a result. Even repairs that Ukrainian technicians would be able to carry out in situ, such as replacing barrels, are delayed because they don't have the parts. "How long it takes to repair depends on the replacement parts: between two and six months," Nahaj said.

Joint ventures and representative offices

German politicians are well aware of the problem with repairs. In September, Marcus Faber, a member of the neoliberal Free Democrats who chairs the Bundestag's defense committee, told the Bild newspaper: "It's absurd that more weapons systems are currently out of use because of a lack of spare parts than as a result of enemy fire."

The problem has not yet been solved, but there have at least been some improvements. For example, the Franco-German armaments group KNDS, which manufactures the howitzers, opened a subsidiary and an office in Kyiv at the beginning of October. This will improve coordination with Ukrainian authorities and workshops.

German companies are establishing subsidiaries in Ukraine to enable their weapons to be repaired in situImage: Sameer al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images

In a press release, the company stated: "The establishment of KNDS Ukraine will enable Ukrainian industry to carry out maintenance and repair work on KNDS systems such as the Leopard 1 and 2, CAESAR, AMX10 RC, Panzerhaubitze 2000, and the Flakpanzer Gepard." KNDS says it will work with Ukrainian industry to produce 155-millimeter artillery ammunition in Ukraine, and to manufacture spare parts according to the latest technologies.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry confirmed to DW that "this will optimize the delivery and production of the necessary components." It is confident that the establishment of joint ventures and manufacturers' representatives in Ukraine will help to speed up repairs of Western equipment. Insiders report that equipment needed to repair howitzers, tanks, and other heavy equipment has already started to arrive in Ukraine from Germany and France.

Enabling repairs within Ukraine

The government in Berlin says that bringing together damaged material, available spare parts, special tools, and professional personnel inside Ukraine will make it possible in future to repair complex damage to vehicles without delay. "In addition, we continue to strive to provide the Ukrainian armed forces with comprehensive materials for independent fault-finding and maintenance. On the industrial side, we are continually looking at new manufacturing methods, possible collaborations, and feasible technical solutions to mitigate the spare parts problem," the German defense ministry told DW.

The Panzerhaubitze 2000 is used so intensively by the Ukrainian army that its gun barrel soon wears out and needs replacingImage: Philipp Schulze/dpa/picture alliance

Berlin stresses that it is making a great effort to provide adequate support for the weapons systems it supplies. The ministry points out that, to this end, Ukrainian personnel are being given maintenance training, and Kyiv is also receiving multimedia technical support and technical documentation.

Gun barrels urgently needed

However, the war has exposed numerous deficiencies in the European defense industry. The problem of gun barrels wearing out rapidly is exacerbated by inadequate EU standardization. Rheinmetall, the German defense company that produces the barrels for the PZH 2000, asserts that they are doing all they can to support Ukraine with spare parts and repairs. "To this end, Rheinmetall has now established its own repair facility in Ukraine. We have already massively increased our barrel production capacities in order to meet demand," the German company told DW.

Repairs of military equipment are also slowed down by bureaucracy. In Germany, a separate armaments export license has to be obtained for each spare part. According to a representative from a defense company, this can take months. He says manufacturers are keen to see the creation of a "military Schengen Area," as proposed recently by the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

Simplifying weapons transports

The idea is to harmonize the legislation of EU countries so that, if necessary, there can be a simplified approval process within the EU that accelerates the transport of weapons between EU countries, without export licenses in their current form. Speaking to DW, a source from a German defense company emphasized that it would be important that Ukraine be part of this.

The German chancellor has proposed a "military Schengen Area" to simplify the transport of arms within the zoneImage: Thomas Frey/dpa/picture alliance

However, as long as there is no "military Schengen Area," European military equipment that has to be repaired in an EU country remains out of service for months. As Ukraine is not an EU member, the problems start with customs clearance at the border when the equipment leaves the country — the damaged PZH 2000 howitzers, for example, which are sent to Slovakia for repair. "Once they arrive there, they'll take a year to repair, maybe even longer," says the artilleryman Bohdan Nahaj. He complains that the shortage of artillery systems is exacerbated by long-drawn-out repairs, and that this is causing major problems for the Ukrainian army on the battlefield.

Interviews with Ukrainian military personnel indicate that all Western weapons are problematic to repair. Ukrainian technicians are therefore also taking the initiative and making their own attempts to find replacement parts that match the originals. However, this can't be done with high-tech components. "At the start of 2022, we still had spare parts made by our partners, but then the problems began," says a technician from the 17th Tank Brigade, whose call sign is "Cynologist." "We've since found specialists in Ukrainian companies who are able to reproduce some of the parts themselves."

Viktor [name changed], a mechanic from a unit that is fighting in the Donetsk region, told DW how he too is producing his own spare parts. Volunteers helped him to set up a workshop near the frontline. "Over more than two years, I sent 16 American mortars for repair. Only two came back repaired," Viktor says. "That's why we're now doing everything to help ourselves, as best we can."

This article was originally written in Russian.