German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG wants to build its first armored vehicles in Ukraine next year, concern's chief executive officer Armin Papperger said, Reuters reports.

Papperger said he expected a deal with Ukraine on the construction of Fuchs armored transport vehicles - named after the German word for fox - and Lynx infantry fighting vehicles by early next year.

"After the contract is signed, we want to have finished the first (Fuchs) within six-seven months, and the first Lynx within 12-13 months," he was quoted as saying.

Ukraine had announced in October a joint defence venture with Rheinmetall AG to help with the local production of some key equipment as well as to service and repair Western weapons sent to Kyiv against Russia's full-scale invasion.

As Reuters reports, Ukrainian officials hope that cooperation with Western weapons manufacturers will help revive the domestic weapons industry, which suffered from inefficiency and lack of transparency for years before the Russian invasion.