German soldiers with 4th Battery, 131st Artillery Battalion carry out a fire mission with self propelled howitzers as part of exercise Dynamic Front 18 at the 7th Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, March 07, 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Markus Rauchenberger)
Germany is considering sending Panzerhaubitze 2000 155 mm self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, Reuters reported on April 29 citing a security source.
According to the unnamed source, Berlin is in talks with the Dutch government on delivering the Panzerhaubitze 2000 to Ukraine.
A recent report by the Dutch ANP news agency revealed that the Netherlands wants supply a “limited number” of the same howitzers to Ukraine. Germany has offered to provide training and ammunition for the howitzers, which were built by German defense company KMW.
A day after the publication of Reuters report a video showing a number of Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers moving on a railway in the German city of Stuttgart surfaced online. The howitzers were reportedly being shipped to the east.
The Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer has a maximum range of 30–36 kilometers with the standard DM121 Boattail round, about 40–47 kilometers with base bleed rounds, and 67 kilometers with M2005 V-LAP assisted projectiles. It can also fire the SMArt 155 shell which carries two anti-tank submunitions with infrared sensor and millimeter wave radar. The howitzer can fire up to ten rounds per minute.
Reuters report was not a surprise. On April 28, German lawmakers voted in favor of sending heavy weapons and complex military systems to Ukraine in order to support Kiev forces in the face of the Russian military who is currently conducting a special military operation in the country.
The West is attempting to rebuild the offensive capabilities of Kiev forces on the hope of prolonging the war in Ukraine and weakening Russia.
Moscow has already warned that Western military support to Kiev forces pose a threat to the security of the European continent and provoke instability.
