MULINO ARMY CENTER (Nizhny Novgorod Region), April 9. /TASS/. The Russian firm Garnizon will complete equipment supplies for the Mulino army training range in the Nizhny Novgorod in the Volga area instead of Germany’s Rheinmetall, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on Thursday.

"All the items we earlier planned to purchase from Rheinmetall - this work has been organized by the company Garnizon, which is completing this contract today," the defense official said, adding the army training range would be commissioned on time.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has resolved the problem with the German contractor’s replacement quite promptly, he said.

"Everyone has been informed that due to the sanctions [imposed against Russia over its stance on developments in neighboring Ukraine] the German company Rheinmetall has stopped supplies under the contract, which was signed for the supply of equipment for this training range," the Russian defense official said.

"Probably, this matter will be transferred and has been transferred to the sphere of judicial proceedings because money was paid but deliveries were not made," the deputy defense minister said.

Germany’s Rheinmetall reached agreement with the Russian side in 2011 on the supply of necessary equipment and the construction of a combat training center for Russia's ground forces.

The German authorities approved the deal. However, after the crisis broke out in eastern Ukraine, the German economy ministry halted the contract fulfillment in the wake of sectoral sanctions slapped by the European Union against Russia. The sanctions, in particular, ban the sale of armaments to Moscow.

The sanctions do not apply to the contracts signed before they were imposed but the German government breached this provision.

It was originally planned that up to 30,000 Russian servicemen could undergo training a the Mulino training center. The deal with Rheinmetall was estimated at 135 million euros.

Russian First Deputy Defense Minister Arkady Bakhin said in February the Defense Ministry had filed a lawsuit with a Swiss court against the German company over its refusal to supply laser fire imitators for the Mulino range.

The German media reported in March that Rheinmetall had demanded from the German government to pay it €120 million as compensation for the ban to carry through its deal with Russia.