At the beginning of January, I exclusively reported that Germany is financing the delivery of 41 Mercedes-Benz Arocs to Ukraine to support the Ukrainian army with additional high-quality logistical vehicles.
More than five months after the announcement, the handover of at least 15 Mercedes-Benz Arocs with a very interesting colour scheme to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine was carried out by the German Ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Jäger. According to the Head of the DPSU, the remaining vehicles will be delivered later today.
The Arocs is the newest family of on- and off-road vehicles that is existing since 2013. According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, trucks of this type will become the backbone of logistics on the frontline of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The Ukrainian army, as well as the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and other branches, rely on a wide range of vehicles produced by Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks and a correspondingly large number of them.
In addition to the Arocs handed over today, Germany has already delivered 250 Mercedes-Benz Zetros and 62 Mercedes-Benz Zetros tankers for water or fuel. Further vehicles such as 20 Mercedes-Benz Zetros refrigerator trucks are to follow in the future.
This means that over 350 Mercedes-Benz logistical vehicles are already in military use, while there are also numerous other vehicles in use for civilian purposes, for example by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs. All of them donated by the German government.
The Head of the DPSU Serhiy Deyneko announced during the handover that the vehicles will significantly increase the combat capability of the border guard units.
Germany’s Ambassador spoke of a special and close relationship with the Border Guards and of the fact that a genuine partnership and personal friendship has developed over the years.
I, personally, admire the steady German support of the Ukrainian army as well as the Ukrainian Border Guards with logistical assistance. This is truly one of the key pillars of the German military assistance.
But I do have one question at the end. I wonder what this very interesting colour scheme is all about. All Mercedes-Benz Zetros delivered to date have been supplied in classic green. But this will certainly remain a secret for the foreseeable future, and one that most people will not be interested in anyways.
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