As of: February 14, 2024, 4:55 a.m
By: Sonja Thomaser
Comments
Press
Split
Rheinmetall is using the war in Ukraine for expansion: a new plant is being built in the Lüneburg Heath.
But the construction is met with resistance.
Unterlüß – The arms company Rheinmetall is one of the few beneficiaries of the Ukraine war.
In view of the large demand for ammunition, the arms company is opening a new factory in the Lüneburg Heath.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (both SPD) will take part in the start of construction of the factory in Lower Saxony on Monday (February 12).
According to the federal government, Denmark's head of government Mette Frederiksen will also be traveling to the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony at 1 p.m. at the company's Unterlüß site.
Protesting farmers block an entrance to the Rheinmetall arms company.
© Philipp Schulze/dpa
Scholz and Pistorius at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Rheinmetall factory – demonstration planned
But the new weapons factory is also met with criticism.
Demonstrators had already gathered in front of the planned ammunition factory this morning.
Numerous people tried to block access roads in Unterlüß, and farmers with tractors were on the move, said a police spokesman.
He initially did not want to give numbers about participants in the demonstrations.
The protests are peaceful: “We are getting through well.”
The Südheide peace campaign also wanted to demonstrate peacefully with a vigil with around ten people - against "armament and war policy," as a spokesman said: "We expect the government to have a de-escalating effect."
Rheinmetall plans to increase production of artillery ammunition due to the war in Ukraine
In particular, the company wants to expand the production of 155-millimeter artillery shells in the new ammunition factory.
Unterlüß is the arms company's largest production site; in addition to ammunition, military vehicles such as the Puma infantry fighting vehicle are also manufactured there.
My news
Tanks in urban warfare: Putin is threatened with a new catastrophe like in Groznylesen
More natural disasters: How Germany is preparing for climate change read
Estonia sounds the alarm: Russia is preparing for a NATO confrontation with a “mass army”.
Now Aiwanger is looking for the wind farm conversation: wind turbines are built “whether citizens want it or not” read
Putin threatens a Pyrrhic victory in Avdiivka: Russia has probably lost a large number of its tanks
Bavaria's coalition is suffering from a row between Söder and Aiwanger: “The pace has become tougher” read
The federal government assessed the expansion of ammunition production in advance as a signal of Germany's continued military support for Ukraine.
In the future, the company wants to produce 200,000 rounds of artillery ammunition as well as explosives and rocket engines there every year.
Rheinmetall wants to invest around 300 million euros in the Lower Saxony location.
(so with dpa/afp)