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The first videos showing the German-made Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) 155 mm self-propelled howitzer in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are currently being shared online.
The first PzH 2000 were spotted in action on the front lines in the Lisichansk area. According to the videos shared by Ukrainian servicemen, the fire is conducted by high-explosive DM121 BT (Boat Tail) ammunition made by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition.
The PzH-2000 is 155-mm self-propelled howitzer gun was developed by the German concern Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and adopted by the Bundeswehr in the fall of 1998. It is believed to be one of the most powerful conventional artillery systems. In burst mode it can fire three rounds in nine seconds, ten rounds in 56 seconds, and can fire between 10 and 13 rounds per minute continuously. The replenishment of shells is automated. Two operators can load 60 shells and propelling charges in less than 12 minutes.
The PzH 2000 is currently in service with the armies of Italy, Netherlands, Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, Qatar and Croatia.
In total, Ukraine should get 12 PzH-2000 from its Western partners within the joint program by Germany and the Netherlands. Germany transfered seven PzH 2000 to Ukraine and the Netherlands sent five systems.
On June 21, the Minister of Defense of the militants of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov confirmed that the German self-propelled guns PzH 2000 are already in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Ukrainian servicemen arrived in Germany for training in the use of the PzH 2000 howitzer. If the Germans study for six months, the Ukrainian soldiers had to master it in 36 days, but the training was originally planned for ten days.
Ukrainian servicemen claim that the German howitzers are three times more effective than analogues that were in service with Ukrainian forces. However, Ukrainian fighters confirm that their number is not enough to stop Russian advance on the front lines.
NATO howitzers do not replenish the ranks of the AFU artillery troops, but fill the gap as a big number of Ukrainian systems have already been destroyed. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, 3,073 field artillery and mortar guns were destroyed as of July 2. In turn, NATO countries have supplied a few hundreds of various artillery systems in total.
Artillery systems are one of the most important weapons used by warring sides in the Ukrainian war. As for the Kiev forces, their equipment is not enough to fulfill the ambitious, or rather, unrealistic tasks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced by Kiev officials.
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The German authorities in April announced their intention to allocate €2 billion for additional military assistance, more than half of this amount will be sent to Ukraine.
In the first half of 2022, the German authorities approved the supply of arms and military goods to Ukraine in the amount of almost € 562 million. This was stated in the report on the export of military products for the first six months of this year, which was released by the press service of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection of Germany on July 1.
“According to preliminary data, in the first half of 2022, individual licenses for arms exports worth €4.14 billion were issued,” the report says. At the same time, it is indicated that 92% were sent to partner countries, including Ukraine. According to the German Ministry of Economy, against the background of the current events in Ukraine, Germany’s support for Kiev “is also reflected in the figures for the first half of the year: licenses worth about €562 million were issued for Ukraine’s self-defense.”
On June 28th, the Bundestag agreed on thr comprehensive support for Ukraine and the supply of heavy weapons to the war-torn coountry, according to the parliament’s reports. The German officials claimed that the supply of “effective weapons and complex systems, including heavy weapons,” to Ukraine is one of the ways to put an end to military operations on the territory of the country.
On June 28th, the Federal Government of Germany published the list which provides an overview of Germany’s lethal and non-lethal military support for Ukraine.
It includes both transfers sourced from Bundeswehr stocks and deliveries sourced from the defence industry that have been purchased with funds from the Enable and Enhance Initiative of the Federal Government.In the 2022 budget procedure, the funds for the Enable and Enhance Initiative were increased to a total of 2 billion euros for 2022. These additional funds are to be used primarily to support Ukraine. At the same time, they are used to fund Germany’s increased obligatory contributions to the European Peace facility (EPF), from which EU member states can be reimbursed for support they provide to Ukraine.
Lethal and non-lethal military support delivered:
- 3,000 “Panzerfaust 3” warheads and 900 gripstocks
- 14,900 anti-tank mines
- 500 STINGER surface-to-air missiles
- 2,700 STRELA man-portable air defence systems
- 7 PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers including adaptation, training and spare parts (joint project in cooperation with the Netherlands)
- 21,8 million rounds of small arms ammunition
- 50 bunker busters
- 100 MG 3 machine guns with 500 spare gun barrels and bolts
- 100,000 hand grenades
- 5,300 explosive charges
- 100,000 meters of detonating cord and 100.000 blasting caps
- 350,000 fuzes
- 10,500 rounds of artillery ammunition
- 10 anti-drone guns*
- 14 anti-drone sensors and jammers*
- 100 self-injectors
- 28,000 combat helmets
- 15 pallets of clothing
- 178 motor vehicles (trucks, minibuses, off-road vehicles)
- 100 tents
- 12 power generators
- 6 pallets of supplies for explosive ordnance disposal
- 125 binoculars
- 1,200 hospital beds
- 18 pallets of medical supplies, 60 surgical lights
- Protective clothing, surgical masks
- 10,000 sleeping bags
- 600 ballistic glasses
- 1 radio frequency system
- 3,000 field telephones with 5,000 rolls of field cable and carrying equipment
- 1 field hospital (joint project in cooperation with Estonia)
- 353 night vision goggles
- 4 electronic anti-drone devices
- 165 binoculars
- Medical supplies (including backpacks, field dressings)
- 38 laser range finders
- Diesel and gasoline (ongoing delivery)
- 10 tons of AdBlue
- 500 hemostatic wound dressings
- 500 food rations
- Food: 2,025 pallets (68 truck loads) with 360,000 individual field rations
- MiG-29 spare parts
- 30 bullet resistant vehicles
Lethal and non-lethal military support in process of preparation / implementation:
(For security reasons, the Federal Government will provide no further details, especially regarding the modalities and dates of the deliveries, until the handover has been completed.)
- 53,000 rounds of self-propelled armoured air defence gun ammunition
- 8 mobile ground radars and thermal imaging devices *
- 8 reconnaissance drones*
- 10 protected vehicles*
- 7 jammers*
- 8 electronic anti-drone devices*
- 4 mobile, remote-controlled and protected mine-clearing equipment*
- 65 refrigerators for medical supplies
- 1 vehicle decontamination point
- 32 reconnaissance drones*
- 54 M113 armoured personnel carriers fitted with weapons (systems from Denmark, conversion funded by Germany)
- 30 GEPARD self-propelled armoured air defence guns*
- IRIS-T SLM air defence system*
- COBRA counterbattery radar
- 80 pickup trucks*
- 3 MARS multi-rocket launchers with ammunition
- 100,000 first-aid kits*
- 22 trucks
* This delivery is sourced from the defence industry and has been purchased with funds from the Enable and Enhance Initiative. Some of the deliveries involve repair work or production is still in progress; in some cases, training is still in progress.
