"Housewives" and "Lego": Rheinmetall says it respects Ukraine after CEO's controversial remarks
German defence concern Rheinmetall has said it has "the utmost respect" for Ukrainian weapons manufacturers after its CEO Armin Papperger compared Ukrainian drones to "Lego bricks" made by "housewives with 3D printers".
Source: Rheinmetall on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda
Details: The company stated that it respects the efforts of Ukrainians in defending against the Russian invasion, particularly under conditions of 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 Ukraine with the resources at our disposal," Rheinmetall tweeted.
The comments followed backlash over remarks made by Papperger. In a recent interview with The Atlantic, he touched on Ukrainian battlefield technologies. When the journalist mentioned Ukrainian-made drones, Papperger dismissed any innovation and compared them to playing with Lego bricks.
"This is how to play with Legos. What is the innovation of Ukraine? They don't have some technological breakthrough," he claimed, adding that this was not the level of technology companies such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, or Rheinmetall.
When the journalist replied that Ukraine is the world's largest democratic drone-producing country, the Rheinmetall CEO asked which companies specifically were being referred to.
The discussion then turned to Ukrainian defence companies Fire Point and Skyfall, which Papperger described as "housewives with 3D printers".
"It's Ukrainian housewives. They have 3-D printers in the kitchen and they produce parts for drones. This is not innovation," he said.
Background:
- Last year, Papperger said he was willing to participate in arming a possible international peacekeeping mission following the end of Russia's war against Ukraine.
- The company has on multiple occasions supplied Ukraine with weaponry of its own manufacture. In October 2025, for example, Rheinmetall announced the transfer of additional Skyranger 35 air defence systems to Ukraine, which were to be funded from proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
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