Russia sues Rheinmetall for 47 million euros over Ukraine training center contract

Moscow is pursuing a lawsuit against German defense giant Rheinmetall, demanding 47.2 million euros in damages related to a training center contract. Russian legal experts, however, admit that the chances of recovering any funds are virtually nil. The lawsuit targets a contract for a military training facility where Russian troops reportedly prepared for the invasion of Ukraine.

The contract in question was frozen in 2014, following Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. Rheinmetall's orders have tripled since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The timing of the lawsuit is notable, as it was filed the day after Rheinmetall announced its largest international contract to date, a 5.7 billion euro deal with Romania. Rheinmetall also confirmed plans to open an armored vehicle factory in western Ukraine.

This is not Moscow's first attempt to litigate this issue. In 2015, the Russian Ministry of Defense sued Rheinmetall in Switzerland over the same terminated contract, but the action was dismissed. The roots of the dispute trace back to June 2011, when Rheinmetall agreed to build a state-of-the-art military training center for the Russian Ground Forces near Mulino. The project was later completed by a Russian state-owned company without German involvement after Berlin withdrew Rheinmetall's export license following the annexation of Crimea.

Concerns about corruption also surrounded the Mulino project. Prosecutors in Bremen investigated two Rheinmetall managers for alleged involvement in a bribery scheme estimated at over 5 million euros, with funds reportedly transferred through a shell company to facilitate the contract. The case was closed in 2020 with fines totaling approximately 12,000 euros.