Germany delivered the first batch of the promised 54 RCH 155 self-propelled howitzers, the country's Foreign Minister Boris Pistorius said during a news conference on Jan. 13.
Six out of the 54 howitzers will remain in Germany to train Ukrainian personnel.
"Ukraine can count on us, and this (the delivery) is a signal. And Germany is ready to take responsibility in Europe," Pistorius was quoted as saying in the German city of Kassel, where the howitzers are manufactured.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, symbolically accepted the first batch on site. Ukraine had requested the RCH 155 in July 2022.
The RCH-155 self-propelled howitzer is a new combination of a GTK Boxer APC (armored personnel carrier) with an automated artillery turret of the PzH 2000.
It fires 155 mm shells to a distance of up to 54 kilometers. It can move quickly on or off-road at speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour due to the wheeled base similar to a heavy-duty armored vehicle.
Ukraine is the first country to receive the new RCH 155.
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