Bundeswehr experts are studying in detail the possibility of using Ukrainian artillery proving grounds. The aim is to hold military exercises and test sophisticated artillery. Yet, as German General Staff Colonel Bernd Schulte, defense attach О at the German Embassy in Ukraine, told The Day, it is not known whether this program will be intended for a long or any other specific term. The point is that Bonn considers it no longer advisable to continue using its traditional test grounds in the US, Canada, and Britain due to high costs. In all probability, what will be the first German step on the “new military territories” is testing the PzH-2000 155-mm self-propelled howitzer built on the basis of the Leopard tank. The Bundeswehr has already formed a battalion and assigned it the task of intensively testing the howitzer during military exercises.
According to Col. Schulte, the likely employment of German arms in Ukraine will create no emergencies. First, German shells fired from the PzH-2000 have an effective and maximum ranges of 30 and 42 kilometers respectively. Secondly, the Germans guarantee the projectiles will contain no hazardous chemical or radioactive substances.
As the military diplomat pointed out, further cooperation between Ukraine and Germany in using the proving ground could be based on bilateral international programs or as part of the NATO Partnership for Peace program.
