Ukrainian Armed Forces need for mine trawls is estimated at 100 units per month – Metinvest

Currently, the company produces five trawls per month and plans to increase capacity

The Armed Forces of Ukraine’s (AFU) need for mine trawls is estimated at 100 units per month. Currently, Metinvest Group produces five trawls per month and has the capacity to increase its production. This was stated by the company’s Chief Operating Officer Olexander Myronenko in the studio of Pryamyy TV channel.

«We have been communicating very closely with the military since the beginning of the war and are constantly trying to respond promptly to their needs. When the preparations for the counter-offensive began, everyone was well aware of the amount of mining the enemy had done on our territory. The military asked us to look at the trophy samples they had taken from the downed Russian tanks, because the Russians also use similar rollers. We went, looked at them, made drawings and developed test samples of these trawls. After that, we started testing to make sure that the design was reliable and could withstand the number of explosions required by the regulations,» he said.

So far, the company has handed over eight units of such equipment to the military, which are already operating successfully. Two more trawls are waiting to be picked up by the military, and five are in the production process. By the end of December, these units will also be handed over to the Armed Forces.

«The most difficult thing was to design them correctly, to withstand all sizes and to produce rinks. It is the rollers that are in direct contact with the mine that are the most difficult to produce. They must have a certain hardness and withstand explosions. Our latest samples, which we are now handing over to the military, can withstand eight or more blasts, after which the trawl must be pulled out and the roller replaced,» adds the operational director of Metinvest.

The company is now going through the process of having the quality of the trawls confirmed by the Ministry of Defense to make sure there are no issues with them. Also, together with several brigades, we are considering the possibility of repairing old Soviet models, because they also fail and get damaged.

«There is a shortage of anti-mine ice rinks that are blown up. We set up serial production because it is, so to speak, a consumable. And together with the trawl, we are handing over several more sets of these rollers so that repairs can be carried out very quickly in the field and continue,» he emphasizes.

Under current conditions, Metinvest produces five trawls a month and donates them to the army. The company has the capacity to increase its production, but lacks the staff to do so.

«Now we do not have enough specialists who can help increase production volumes, for example, to 10, 15, 20 mine trawls. We should not forget that we have a core production that needs to be maintained, and there are some military things that we do on a volunteer basis. And we are now working together with the Ministry of Defense to create favorable conditions and be able to recruit more staff and increase production. In general, the need that the military is talking about is more than 100 trawls per month. This is the need that needs to be met,» he sums up

As GMK Center reported earlier, Metinvest since the beginning of the war in Ukraine systematically supports both the state and the military. During this period, UAH 4.2 billion was allocated to military and civilian needs. More than UAH 2 billion has been allocated to support the Ukrainian army.