The German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall announced on Saturday that it had reached an agreement with a Ukrainian company to produce artillery ammunition in Ukraine, which urgently needs such products in the face of Russian aggression, AFP reports.

The agreement was signed in Munich on the sidelines of the Security Conference in the presence of Oleksandr Kamitsyn, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, and Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall.

Ultimately, according to the press release, the Ukrainian Ammunition Competence Center is expected to produce a “six-figure number” of 155mm shells, including the corresponding propellants, each year.

For security reasons, neither the name of the Ukrainian partner, nor the location of the future plant, nor the date of the start of production are disclosed.

The joint venture, 51% owned by Rheinmetall and 49% by the Ukrainian partner, will make a “significant contribution to Ukraine’s defense capability and thus serve security in Europe,” said Armin Papperger.

In general, the current projects with Ukraine amount to “several billion euros, and their number is growing almost every day,” according to the general director.

This is Rheinmetall’s second joint venture in Ukraine, after the one signed last October with the Ukrainian state-owned company UDI, formerly Ukroboronprom, for the repair of military equipment, the first step towards on-site production.

And last Monday, in the presence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the first stone was laid for the future munitions factory at the main defense-industrial complex of Rheinmetall in Unterluss (northern Germany).

From 2025, the facility will produce 155 mm artillery ammunition, the standard NATO artillery ammunition used in numerous guns and howitzers, gradually reaching 200,000 rounds per year.

Rheinmetall plans to produce up to 700,000 artillery shells a year by 2025, up from 400,000 to 500,000 this year. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he released only 70,000.