Germany and the Netherlands handed over 12 PzH 2000 ACS to Ukraine

Germany and the Netherlands handed over all the 12 promised PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This was announced by Christine Lambrecht, German Defense Minister during her speech at the Bundestag.

She stated that fully prepared crews arrived in Ukraine along with the ACS.

Die 12 🇩🇪🇳🇱 Panzerhaubitzen 2000 sind in der #Ukraine angekommen – die fertig ausgebildeten 🇺🇦 SoldatInnen sind zurück. Wir unterstützen weiter mit dem, was gebraucht wird und wir abgegeben werden kann. Denn: #LVBV muss gewährleistet bleiben – betont Ministerin Lambrecht. pic.twitter.com/R1JyulTEDZ

— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) June 22, 2022

The day before, Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine stated that the Panzerhaubitze 2000 had already become the sixth 155-mm artillery system in the service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Thus, the Defense Forces of Ukraine were replenished with a full-fledged self-propelled artillery howitzer division, which is armed with one of the most advanced howitzers in the world. Apart from Germany and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Italy is also among the PzH 2000 operators with the largest number of such howitzers, which according to open data accounts for 70 of these systems. Earlier, Italian media reported that the transfer of a certain amount of PzH 2000 to Ukraine was being considered by the Italian government.

Serhiy Misyura, one of ArmyInform editors – the news agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, published that the PzH 2000s had already entered the battle. According to him, howitzers were fired at the enemy on June 22 at 4 am.

Panzerhaubitze 2000 is a German self-propelled artillery howitzer with an automatic loading system and a high level of automation of all systems. It is developed on the basis of the Leopard-2 tank.

For firing, the NATO countries’ armies are using separate-loading rounds. It is equipped with a muzzle brake and an ejector. The gun barrel with a rifled channel has a length of 52 calibers and is equipped with a charging chamber. The vehicle carries 60 artillery shells and 228 propellants on board. The range of firing standard ammunition is 30 km.