New Delhi: Ukrainian officials and arms manufacturers have hit back at the disparaging comments of Rheinmetall AG CEO Armin Papperger against its drone industry, claiming that its technologies alone have “confirmed more hits” than the German defence giant’s “entire fleet of equipment” in its entirety of history.
Oleksandr Yakovenko, the founder of TAF Industries, one of Ukraine’s leading drone manufacturers, in a letter criticising Papperger’s remarks, made it clear that drones built by Ukraine in 2025 accounted for “90 per cent of all combat losses of the Russian army.”
Papperger claims that drones are being made by “Ukrainian Housewives” led to the trending hashtag #MadeByHousewives across social media platforms such as X.“When you called Ukrainian drone manufacturers “Ukrainian housewives with 3D printers in their kitchens,” you demonstrated how deeply the European defense establishment still fails to understand the nature of modern warfare,” Yakovenko said.
“In 2025 alone, Ukrainian drones carried out 819,737 confirmed strikes. They accounted for 90% of all combat losses of the Russian army—more than all other types of weapons combined. A single company, TAF Industries, produces up to 100,000 FPV drones per month. Over any given 90-day period, the products of my company alone have more confirmed hits than your entire fleet of equipment over its entire history of combat use across all conflicts.”
Yakovenko further hit out at Rheinmetall’s pace of innovation, pointing out that its engineers “still require 3-5 years and hundreds of millions of euros to certify minor upgrades” while “outdated” European platforms, however expensive they are, are becoming increasingly “irrelevant” to modern warfare.
Last week, Papperger in an interview with the American magazine The Atlantic had dismissed Ukraine’s drone industry as “how they play with Legos.”
“What is the innovation of Ukraine?…They don’t have some technological breakthrough. They make innovations with their small drones, and they say, ‘Wow!’ And that’s great. Whatever. But this is not the technology of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, or Rheinmetall,” Papperger told the American magazine.
The German CEO went a step further in his criticism of drone warfare, claiming that the largest manufacturers in Ukraine are housewives with 3-D printers. Papperger’s comments did not go down very well, with many taking to social media platforms to pushback against his views using the hashtag #MadeByHousewives on X.
The pushback comes at a moment when Kyiv is pitching its technologies to the countries in West Asia, which are facing attacks from Iran, as the conflict in the region continues for its fifth week.
While Ukraine’s drone industry has grown during the last four-years due to the ongoing war with Russia, Rheinmetall AG, remains focussed on supplying air defences, combat vehicles and ammunition to Kyiv. Last year, the German defence giant made sales worth EUR 10 billion to the Eastern European country, according to the Associated Press.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Papperger’s comments as “strange” in a voice note on WhatsApp Monday, reported the Associated Press.
“If every Ukrainian housewife can really produce drones, then every Ukrainian housewife could also be the CEO of Rheinmetall,” Zelenskyy added in his comments.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko declared that Europe’s defence is “powered by Ukrainian housewives,” asserting that they are key to “Europe’s Security,” in a post on X late Sunday evening.
“They have stepped with courage into many areas once seen as male-dominated, bringing energy, discipline, and determination. Across the Defense Forces and the defense industry, they are driving positive change and helping develop new solutions guided by the most important standard of all – effectiveness on the battlefield,” Svyrydenko added, ending her post with the #MadeByHousewives hashtag.
Late Sunday, Rheinmetall AG issued a response to the controversy, stating that it has the “utmost respect for the Ukrainian people’s immense efforts in defending themselves against the Russian attack.”
“The innovative strength and the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people are an inspiration to us. We are grateful to be able to support [Ukraine] with the resources at our disposal,” the German defence giant added.
In West Asia, Ukraine recently signed a defence cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, as Kyiv is keen to purchase PAC-3 missiles for its US-made Patriot defence systems to protect against ballistic missile attacks. In exchange, Kyiv is offering its expertise in countering drones.
The Ukrainian defence industry has been able to create a more cost effective method to defend against drones, while a number of countries in West Asia, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have been using far more expensive options to shoot down Iranian drones.
(Edited by Tony Rai)