The fact that logistical and support vehicles are a fundamental part of the German government’s support for Ukraine in its defence against the Russian aggression should be well known by now.
At the time this article was published, Germany had already supplied Ukraine with hundreds of different logistical or support vehicles for a wide variety of deployment scenarios.
Regardless of whether we are talking about transport vehicles for tanks, ammunition, fuel, or personal equipment for soldiers, Germany has already delivered a suitable vehicle for this purpose.
Mercedes-Benz also plays an important role here. The company has supplied 258 Mercedes-Benz Zetros in different variants through its Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks division.
With the last update of the official list of Germany’s assistance to Ukraine, which was published on the 4th of January, the German government announced that the last 10 Mercedes-Benz Zetros in the basic version had now been delivered to Ukraine.
But in the same update, 41 new Mercedes-Benz trucks were added to the assistance still to be delivered. Although they did not specify exactly which vehicle was meant, it was at least announced that the delivery would be made via the industry.
However, a company spokesperson from Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks told me that they are once again responsible for the delivery — which rules out a delivery of second-hand vehicles from some random car dealer.
He also informed me that the 41 vehicles listed on the federal government’s website are Mercedes-Benz Arocs. The Arocs is the newest family of on- and off-road vehicles that is existing since 2013 and is used primarily in the construction sector.
Not only the heavy-duty tractor unit is available in different variants, but also the vehicle in general. The Arocs can be purchased as a semi-trailer tractor, flatbed truck, concrete mixer or dump truck, which makes it well-suited for most jobs available in Ukraine.
Image: Daimler Truck AGThe Arocs is characterised above all by two values. Its robustness and its powerful package. With 238 hp to 625 hp, the Arocs always has the upper hand even on difficult terrain and has enough power on board to fulfil its task.
Further details such as a delivery timeframe, the exact variants or an order volume were not communicated to me for reasons that I am sure everyone understands.
However, it should not take long for this to be revealed, at least regarding the different variants.
In my experience, the vehicles provided by Mercedes-Benz are particularly photogenic and popular among the Ukrainian soldiers. Not only do I see a photo or video of the already delivered Zetros trucks probably once a month.
Already at the beginning of January, I received pictures showing the in December delivered Zetros in the tanker version. They had only been in Ukraine for about 3 weeks.
I am therefore looking forward to the German government announcing the delivery of the 41 new Arocs to Ukraine. Until then, however, the Ukrainian soldiers must first be trained on the new trucks — which should happen in the near future.
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