American intelligence has discovered that the Russian government is planning to assassinate the CEO of a powerful German arms manufacturer, Armin Papperger.
The Russians tried to kill the head of the powerful German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger. This concern is actively supplying weapons to Ukraine and plans to open a joint Ukrainian-German production facility. The United States and Germany blocked Russia’s plans, CNN reported, citing five American and Western officials familiar with the matter.
The whole system
The assassination attempt was one of a series of Russian plans to kill defense industry executives across Europe who were supporting Ukraine’s war effort, the sources said. The plan to kill Armin Papperger was the most prepared.
When the Americans found out, they informed Germany, that the security services had managed to protect Papperger and that the Russians’ plans had failed.
A senior German official confirmed that Berlin had been warned by the United States about Russia’s plans.
Important for Ukraine
Papperger was an obvious target: his company, Rheinmetall, was the largest and most successful German manufacturer of vital 155mm artillery ammunition for the Ukrainian army.
In June, the German defense concern Rheinmetall announced that it had received the largest order in the company’s history to supply 155 mm artillery shells to the Bundeswehr.
The total value of the contract for the supply of ammunition is about 8.5 billion euros. The main purpose of the order is to replenish the supplies of the Bundeswehr and its allies, as well as support Ukraine should begin in early 2025. The main buyer is Germany, which will provide part of the supplies to Ukraine.
In addition, partner countries – the Netherlands, Estonia and Denmark – are also participating in the order.
Rheinmetall will open an armored vehicle plant in Ukraine in the coming weeks, which a source familiar with the intelligence says is causing deep concern in Russia.
Not the first attack
Supporters of the left-wing extremist movement RAF said they set fire to Papperger’s garden house on the night of April 29, accusing him of “profiting” from arms sales.
The unknown assailants published a letter on the Internet, in which they claimed responsibility for setting Papperger’s house on fire. The admission letter says that “Rheinmetall is one of the beneficiaries of the so-called turning point” (Zeitenwende), a term used by German authorities to describe the change in defense policy due to Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine.
Keep trying
In a joint press conference with Vladimir Zelensky, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbeng commented on the CNN publication about the prevention of the assassination attempt on Papperger.
Stoltenbeng refused to confirm or deny information about the assassination attempt on Papperger, but noted that Western countries are recording Russia’s ongoing attempts to organize sabotage, cyberattacks and other attacks.
“We see Russia’s attempts to intimidate us so that they don’t support Ukraine, but they have the opposite result,” Stoltenbeng said.
The US National Security Council refused to comment on the existence of a Russian conspiracy and the warning to Germany. But council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said: “Russia’s escalating campaign of interference is something we have been taking very seriously and paying close attention to over the past few months.”
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.