Rheinmetall, one of the largest manufacturers of military equipment and weapons in Germany and Europe, will open an armored vehicle plant in Ukraine within the next 12 weeks, Armin Papperger, CEO of the company, said in an exclusive interview with CNN.

"Germany’s biggest arms maker will also train Ukrainians to maintain the tanks and other armored vehicles made in the factory, which will be located in the western part of the country," he said.

"[Ukrainians] have to help themselves — if they always have to wait [for] Europeans or Americans [to] help them over the next 10 or 20 years… that is not possible," he said.

Earlier, in early 2023, Rheinmetall told the Rheinische Post edition that it hoped to open a EUR200 million ($218 million) battle tank plant in Ukraine that could produce about 400 tanks a year.

"Papperger said on Thursday that factory workers would build and repair Rheinmetall’s Fuchs armored personnel carrier — named after the German word for fox — under license in the facility. Rheinmetall will operate the plant in partnership with Ukroboronprom, a Ukrainian state-owned defense group, which will also own the facility. In May, the companies announced an agreement to boost Ukraine’s defense technology capacities," the report reads.

Commenting on possible Russian attacks on the plant, Papperger said that there were many factories producing military products (in Ukraine). This is just another one of them, and we can protect it, he added.

The Rheinmetall CEO noted that at present, providing the Ukrainian army with ammunition is a higher priority than building new tanks.

In 2024, the company will increase the annual production of artillery shells from 100,000 to 600,000, most of these products will be destined for delivery to Ukraine.

According to Papperger, his company can provide 60% of the artillery ammunition needed by Ukraine.