German weapons chief says Ukrainian army like ‘children playing with Lego’
President RheinmetallThe German defense company likened Ukrainian drone manufacturers to housewives and children “playing with Lego”.
Tough-talking CEO Armin Papperger made provocative statements in an interview with an American magazine, arguing that Ukraine did not deserve credit for battlefield innovations.
When asked how Ukraine is turning drones into some vehicles The deadliest weapons in the world Mr. Papperger quipped at Russian troops and tanks: “This is how you play with Legos.”
The biggest drone manufacturers in Ukraine are “housewives working in the kitchen with 3D printers and they are making parts for drones… this is not an innovation,” he told the Atlantic magazine.
The disdain of Germany’s largest tank manufacturer has attracted business leaders, government ministers and even Ukrainian Volodymyr ZelenskyThe President weighs in.
“If every housewife in Ukraine can really produce a drone, then every housewife in Ukraine can become the general director of Rheinmetall,” Zelensky said on Monday, urging the company to compete with Ukraine with results, not rhetoric.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko was also angered by this comment. “Yes, the defense of Europe is supported by Ukrainian ‘housewives’,” he said, using the hashtag #MadeByHousewives, which has gone viral since the Rheinmetall interview.
Armin Papperger, managing director of Rheinmetall, which arms Europe – INA FASSBENDER/Getty Images
Alexander Kamyshin, an adviser to Mr. Zelensky, added that Ukrainian women “are wonderful housewives, but they have to work hard in military factories and deserve respect.”
During their visit Arms factories in UkraineHe said he had seen “often enough that Ukrainian women work equally with men.”
The war of words is an embarrassment for Mr. Papperger, one of Ukraine’s closest supporters. His company produced tanks, mortar shells and large quantities of 155 mm artillery shells for Kiev.
Her mention of housewives also attracted attention because of the critical role women played in World War II; Nearly a million former housewives worked in arms factories in Britain alone.
Mr. Papperger’s comments are likely to be disturbing. Friedrich MerzGerman chancellor. He is one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Kiev and also trusts Rheinmetall to expand the German armed forces.
He promised to buildEurope’s most powerful conventional armyMr Merz agreed to historic debt reforms in Germany that allow potentially unlimited public spending on major defense projects.
Rheinmetall was by far the German biggest beneficiary of this increase in contracts and financing opportunities. Mr Papperger said he hoped to “capture” €300bn (£260bn) from European defense deals by 2030.
Rheinmetall faced such widespread criticism on social media for its comments that it issued a statement via its official X account on Sunday, insisting its CEO respected Ukrainian innovations.
“We have great respect for the tremendous efforts of the Ukrainian people to defend themselves,” the company said. “Every woman and man in Ukraine makes an immeasurable contribution.”
As The Telegraph revealed in a recent profile, Mr Papperger was called “alpha male animal“Germany’s defense industry has a very traditional approach to the arms industry and a tendency to boast about its success.
Ukraine’s Magura V7 maritime drone has a range of up to 900 miles – Efrem Lukatsky/AP
His £70bn company Rheinmetall is seen as so important to Ukraine’s war effort that Russia at one point hatched a plot to assassinate him.
Left-wing extremists also carried out an arson attack in April 2024, targeting his summer house in revenge for his support of the Ukrainian army.
An anonymous social media statement announcing the attack mentioned “various old-style tanks that can now be sold to Ukraine with ammunition and at a huge profit.”
Mr Pappeger, arguably Germany’s most high-profile defense figure, has been divisive among his colleagues in his industry.
A German defense source said: “On a positive note, he proactively analyzes problems, pushes for solutions and is an expert in external communications.
“Negatives [boastful] communication. There’s also a sense that he’s enjoying his company’s success more. [he sees] The fragmentation of the world is a problem.
“So is he a good man? No. Could he be just the right man these days? He very well could be.”
