German defence giant Rheinmetall on Sunday sought to smooth over a row caused by comments from its boss comparing Ukrainian factories producing drones to “housewives” making weapons in their kitchens.
In an interview with the US magazine The Atlantic published on Friday, CEO Armin Papperger was asked about Ukraine’s development of drone technology, widely seen to have played a key role in the country’s response to Russia’s invasion.
“This is how to play with Legos,” Papperger said of the drones and went on to compare major drone Ukrainian manufacturers to “housewives”.
“They have 3-D printers in the kitchen, and they produce parts for drones,” he said, adding: “This is not innovation.”
That earned a sharp response from Alexander Kamyshin, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who took to the X platform to point out the successes that Ukraine’s drones have had against Russian tanks.
Kamyshin said that in his visits to arms factories he had seen “Ukrainian women working equally with men often enough”.
“They are great housewives, yet they have to work hard in the military factories,” he said, telling Rheinmetall: “They deserve respect.”
Papperger’s comments also spawned the hashtag #MadeByHousewives on Ukrainian social media. Users hit back at Papperger’s comments with jokes and memes highlighting the effectiveness of Ukrainian drones and anti-drone defences.
– ‘Utmost respect’ –
On Sunday, Rheinmetall tagged Kamyshin in a post on its own X account in which it sought to make amends.
“We have the utmost respect for the Ukrainian people’s immense efforts in defending themselves,” the company said, adding: “Every single woman and man in Ukraine is making an immeasurable contribution.”
“It is to Ukraine’s particular credit that it is fighting highly effectively even with limited resources,” the post went on.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko later on Sunday said on X that “the people of Ukraine deserve not only utmost respect but to be heard — and learned from.”
“Yes, Europe’s defense is powered by Ukrainian ‘housewives’,” she said, also adding the #MadeByHousewives hashtag.
Rheinmetall’s business has boomed since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine spurred a re-armament drive in Europe.
The Duesseldorf-based group has benefitted in particular from greater defence spending in Germany, where Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to turn the Bundeswehr into Europe’s largest conventional army.
Ukraine’s Zelensky in the past days has been on a tour of the Middle East touting Kyiv’s expertise in drone warfare to countries in the region fending off Iranian drone and missile attacks.
