Ukrainians taught to repair PzH 2000 in Lithuania

The first group of Ukrainian military mechanics completed a two-week training course on repairing PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers in Lithuania.

The LRT reported about this.

“This is the first group to undergo training in Lithuania on how to repair these howitzers,” said Major Žilvinas Čerškus, chief of staff of the Lithuanian artillery battalion stationed in the central district of Jonava.

On Friday, December 23, a group of Ukrainian soldiers left the training base in the city of Rukla and went home.

Previously, Militarnyi reported that Germany handed over a dozen PzH 2000 howitzers to Ukraine back in June.

However, the heavy use of howitzers led to rapid wear and tear. In November, the German magazine Der Spiegel announced that the Ukrainian army fired approximately 300 rounds a day per gun.

They are sent to NATO countries for repairs, including Lithuania, where six howitzers have been repaired so far.

However, Lithuania does more than just assist with weapon maintenance. Lithuanian specialists began to train Ukrainian military mechanics. Ukrainian mechanics spent two weeks in Lithuania, studying instructions and learning how to service howitzer engines and chassis. Ukrainians worked on four howitzers and learned to work with different components.

The Lithuanian military emphasized that the Ukrainian soldiers were trained to perform howitzer maintenance, rather than repair broken parts.

According to the Lithuanian military, who spoke on condition of anonymity, it was the lack of maintenance during the heavy use of artillery in Ukraine. That led to howitzer failures in some cases.

Many of the Ukrainians who finished the training in Lithuania had prior training in Germany and then specialized in chassis or turret maintenance while in Lithuania.

Lithuania has been using PzH 2000s since 2016. For the time being, Lithuanian troops have shared their practical experience with their Ukrainian counterparts, according to Čerškus.

“They gained more theoretical knowledge elsewhere, but we taught them about faults that are not described in the books and that we have learned from our experience operating the equipment,” the officer who supervised the training process said.

According to him, Ukrainians also shared information from the front line about howitzers’ spare parts issues.

According to one of the artillery battalion’s soldiers, the Lithuanians willingly agreed to assist Ukrainians.

“If the Ukrainians needed more time, our troops were willing to work with them after working hours,” Čerškus said. “A common enemy motivates,” he added.