Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger . Photo: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images
Russia planned to assassinate the CEO of the German company Rheinmetall, which produces shells and military vehicles for Ukraine, CNN reported on Thursday, citing five unidentified U.S. and Western officials, Reuters writes.
The plot was discovered by U.S. intelligence services earlier this year.
The plan to kill Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger was just one of a series of Russian government plans to assassinate defense industry executives in Europe who were supporting Ukraine’s war effort, according to CNN.
When the Americans learned of this plan, they informed Germany, whose security services were then able to protect Papperger and thwart the plot.
A senior German government official confirmed that Berlin was warned of the plot by the U.S.
For more than six months, Russia has been conducting a sabotage campaign across Europe, largely through collaborators, recruiting individuals from those countries for actions ranging from arson attacks on weapon-related warehouses for Ukraine to minor acts of vandalism—all intended to impede the flow of weapons from the West to Ukraine and unwavering public support for Kyiv.
But intelligence suggesting that Russia would be willing to assassinate citizens shows officials how far Moscow is prepared to go in a parallel, shadowy war it is waging in the West.
Papperger was an obvious target: his company, Rheinmetall, is the largest and most successful German producer of vital 155mm artillery shells, which have become the main weapon in Ukraine’s war of attrition.
Russians Alarmed by Tank Factory Rheinmetall Will Open in Ukraine
The company is opening an armored vehicle factory inside Ukraine in the coming weeks, an effort a source familiar with the intelligence said deeply concerns the Russians.
Rheinmetall will hold a majority stake of 51% in the new company and will manage it, CEO Armin Papperger said last year in an interview with Handelsblatt, adding that the cooperation will cover maintenance and repair of armored vehicles in Ukraine, while tank production will be prepared in parallel.
“Ukraine will benefit from a comprehensive technology transfer, as well as a short-term supply of military equipment from Germany,” Papperger told Handelsblatt.
Last year, Papperger also stated that the factory could be established in Ukraine for approximately 200 million euros and could produce up to 400 Panther main battle tanks annually.
This announcement already provoked the ire of Russian Security Council Vice-Chairman Dmitry Medvedev.
Dmitry Medvedev then threatened that the Russian military would “welcome” the future German tank factory in Ukraine with Kalibr missiles and other “pyrotechnic fireworks.”
Medvedev, a former president of Russia, expressed his belief that the plans to build the factory currently resemble a “primitive trolling by the Kyiv regime.”
