A few months ago, Germany and the Netherlands delivered several self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine. Many of them are already in need of repair. The guns have to be transported abroad for repairs. To avoid this in the future, Ukrainian mechanics are being trained in Lithuania.
In Lithuania, the first mechanics of the Ukrainian army have completed their training on repairing and servicing the 2000 self-propelled howitzer. A group of soldiers have completed a two-week training course with the army of the Baltic EU and NATO country, as reported by the BNS agency in a report from a maintenance center in Rukla. There the Ukrainians learned how to maintain howitzer engines and chassis.
“The goal is to train troops to spot problems and fix them on the battlefield in real time,” said Major Zilvinas Cerskus, chief of staff of the Rukla-based Lithuanian Army Artillery Battalion. To do this, the Ukrainian troops worked on four howitzers. Many of the soldiers had previously completed training in Germany, and Lithuania then specialized in chassis or turret maintenance.
Germany and the Netherlands had handed over a dozen 2000 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine as military aid for the defense against Russia. Because of the intensive use at the front, according to a “Spiegel” report in November, most of them are in need of repairs. So far, the howitzers have been transported to neighboring NATO countries – including Lithuania – for repairs.
The Lithuanian armed forces have been using the Panzerhaubitze 2000 as a weapon system for several years – and are now sharing their practical knowledge with the Ukrainian army. “We have informed them about bugs that are not described in the manuals,” Cerskus said. Conversely, the Ukrainians shared their information from the front about the problematic parts of the howitzers.
As BNS further reported, citing unnamed Lithuanian soldiers, lack of maintenance during heavy use is said to have been the reason for howitzer failures in Ukraine in some cases. Under war conditions, maintenance must therefore be carried out much more frequently than once a year, sometimes even weekly.
