South African government blocked supply of shells to Poland, fearing they would be transferred to Ukraine - media
South Africa did not deliver 50,000 artillery shells to Poland, which Warsaw had ordered from the German arms concern Rheinmetall. The government blocked the delivery.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the Polish edition of Rzeczpospolita.
Poland's contract with the German concern Rheinmetall
"The supply of ammunition to Poland was blocked - more or less directly - by the South African government over fears that it could be sent to Ukraine. However, South Africa is closer to Russia, with which it is, among other things, a member of the BRICS alliance," the newspaper writes.
Poland signed a contract with Rheinmetall for 155 mm artillery shells a few months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As of August 2024, Poland had not yet received the shells.
A South African company acted as a subcontractor
The publication asked the Polish Ministry of Defence's arms agency about the fate of the contract. The agency said that the contract was cancelled on 20 July 2023 "due to problems related to the subcontractor's performance of the contract".
As noted, the South African company Rheinmetall Denel Munition was supposed to produce ammunition for Poland. And this is exactly the "problematic" subcontractor that the ministry's representatives are talking about. It is a subsidiary of a German concern in which it holds a 51% stake.
To effectively defend itself against a potential Russian attack, Poland needs at least one million 155mm artillery rounds, Rzeczpospolita adds.
