US intelligence services have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate the chief executive of Germany’s leading arms manufacturer, which was an apparent attempt at retaliation over the company’s role in providing a large amount of armaments for Ukraine, according to reports on Thursday.
The plot to murder Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall, was one of several Russian government plans to kill defence industry executives in several countries in Europe who have been supporting Ukraine’s war effort, unidentified US and western officials told CNN.
The plans to kill Papperger were in the most advanced stages of any of the plots, the investigators reportedly said.
US authorities had immediately informed their German counterparts, according to the report, and security around Papperger and Rheinmetall had been stepped up accordingly.
Papperger told the Financial Times that the German government had set up a “great level of security around my person”.
While he did not directly confirm the threats, he told the Financial Times that the CNN report was credible, saying, “I think CNN is not just looking up at the sky”.
Rheinmetall has declined to comment but said in a statement to media that “necessary measures are always taken” in regular consultation with security authorities.
German authorities have yet to respond to requests for comment but a government official confirmed that the US had warned Berlin about the plot.
Rheinmetall is one of the world’s biggest armaments’ producers, making artillery and tank shells as well as armoured vehicles. It considerably ramped up its production after Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and is one of the largest suppliers of military equipment and ammunition to Ukraine, Germany’s Der Spiegel reports.
In February, Rheinmetall announced plans to open an ammunition factory in Ukraine to produce and repair armoured vehicles. The factory was the main reason for the plot against Papperger, German security authorities told Der Spiegel.
Observers noted that a patrol car and several police officers carrying submachine guns had been parked in front of the Rheinmetall headquarters in the western German city of Düsseldorf every day for months, while Papperger has had visible personal protection for a similar time period.
In public settings such as football matches, cultural events and association meetings, he has been accompanied by security provided by the police from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia – one of only a handful of people to be afforded such protection.
The white-haired, stockily built CEO has even appeared, during a visit to Ukraine, donning a bulletproof vest, declaring: “It is very important for us to support Ukraine efficiently and reliably,” Der Spiegel reports.
In the Spring, he took Olaf Scholz on a tour of a Rheinmetall production hall full of Leopard battle tanks.
Papperger’s profile has been boosted by Rheinmetall’s role in the conflict, with the company becoming one of the 40 largest companies listed in the DAX index as a result, according to Der Spiegel. Last year, its operating result shot up to almost €1bn, and the order books expanded by about 44 % to more than €38bn.
Rheinmetall has been described since the Russian full-blown invasion and Germany’s subsequent involvement as one of the biggest suppliers of weapons to Kyiv and a thorn in Moscow’s side.
In their piece they state that the Rheinmetall boss “had long been considered a threat by the German security authorities”. They suspected that because of his prominent position he was in danger of becoming the target of a Russian attack. The main reason given was that the company was building a factory for the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle in Ukraine and wanted to develop the arms industry in the country.
Rheinmetall is one of the largest single suppliers of military equipment and ammunition to Ukraine and wants to expand its production so that it is able to produce 700,000 rounds of artillery ammunition annually. Though 1 million is considered an approximate requirement for Ukraine to be able to adequately defend itself against Russia.
The Ukrainian army is equipped with a range of weapons from the German manufacturer, including Leopard 1 main battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles. In addition the company has supplied Ukraine with 155mm artillery shells, which have been central to Ukraine’s unrelenting war of attrition, and provided a comprehensive service involving repair, delivery and replacement parts.
The company says it has long been the target of so-called hybrid warfare from Russia, including cyber-attacks. The latest threats are being taken very seriously, and are considered plausible, a company insider told Der Spiegel, adding, “We will not let this divert ourselves from the decisive action to support Ukraine”.
The assassination plot revelations come amid a flurry of incidents believed to be part of a systematic Russian sabotage campaign in revenge for support for Ukraine. It has reportedly recruited amateurs locally to carry out everything from arson attacks on warehouses and shopping centres to smaller actions, including acts of vandalism and graffiti, as well as espionage operations, all intended to undermine Ukraine’s war effort and to help dent public support for Ukraine. The actions have been described as a “shadow war” that Moscow is waging in western Europe.
On Thursday a senior Nato official told reporters attending the alliance’s conference in Washington that the sabotage campaign had been increasing in intensity and had to be taken extremely seriously.
“We’re seeing sabotage, we’re seeing assassination plots, we’re seeing arson. We’re seeing things that have cost in human lives,” he said. “I believe very much that we’re seeing a campaign of covert sabotage activities from Russia that have strategic consequences.”
The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said at the Nato summit that Russia was waging a hybrid war of aggression, including cyber-attacks and sabotage of infrastructure. “This underlines once again that we as Europeans must protect ourselves as best we can and not be naive,” she told Reuters.