Rheinmetall Apologizes for CEO’s Comments About “Ukrainian Housewives With 3D Printers”

German defense company Rheinmetall has apologized for comments by its CEO, Armin Papperger, who described Ukrainian drone manufacturers as “housewives with 3D printers.”

The company shared this in a post on its X account.

The post emphasizes that Rheinmetall has the highest respect for the efforts of the Ukrainian people in resisting Russian aggression.

It also notes that Ukraine has demonstrated significant effectiveness in conducting combat operations even with limited resources.

“The innovative strength and the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people are an inspiration to us. We are grateful to be able to support with the resources at our disposal,” the post reads.

Earlier, a controversy arose after Papperger’s disparaging remarks about Ukrainian drones, in which he suggested they lacked innovation.

“They innovate with their little drones and say: ‘Wow!’ And that’s great. Well, that’s good. But this is not Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, or Rheinmetall technology,” he said in a conversation with The Atlantic journalist Simon Schuster.

When the journalist cited examples of Ukrainian defense companies, leading drone manufacturers, Papperger called them “Ukrainian housewives.”

“They have 3D printers in their kitchens, and they produce drone parts. This is not innovation,” he added.

It was recently reported that, following an agreement with Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Qatar reached a strategic defense partnership for at least 10 years. The agreement provides, among other things, for joint weapons production.

Under these agreements, Ukraine and its partner countries will implement co-production projects and create factories and production lines both domestically and abroad.

The total value of the agreements is estimated at billions of dollars.