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Russia is believed to be behind a foiled plot to assassinate the head of Europe’s largest munitions manufacturer over his company’s support for Ukraine, NATO diplomats say.
Two senior alliance diplomats said the alleged plot against Armin Papperger, chief executive of Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall, was being treated as part of Russia’s broader campaign of sabotage and hybrid attacks against European NATO states. The plot was first reported by CNN.
A person familiar with Papperger’s security said the measures surrounding the defense chief were “at the highest level” — comparable to the security of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
A spokesman for Scholz declined to comment, but Papperger told the Financial Times that Berlin had created a “high level of security around my person”.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, dismissed the reports on Friday as “fake” and “without serious arguments.”
Although Papperger said he could not confirm the details of the plot, he said he believed the outline in the original CNN report, which said U.S. intelligence discovered the attempt and alerted German authorities, who were then able to foil the plot.
“I think CNN is not just looking at the sky,” he said when asked about the accuracy of the US broadcaster’s story.
Papperger drew the Kremlin’s ire in 2023 when he announced plans to build a Panther tank factory in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry threatened to destroy the plant, a ministry spokesman said.
Western intelligence agencies have warned in recent months about increased sabotage attempts by Russia in Europe, including plans to target military bases in Germany.
Despite the growing seriousness of allied intelligence warnings, diplomats said the German government was keen to downplay developments surrounding Papperger at the NATO summit in Washington.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declined to comment on the specific report on the killing, but added: “What I can say is that there is a pattern, a Russian campaign organized by the [Kremlin] security services to carry out hostile actions against NATO allies… involving various types of hostile actions.”
CNN reported that the plan was part of a series of Russian plots to assassinate defense industry executives across Europe who supported Ukraine’s war effort.
Stoltenberg added: “These are not isolated incidents, but part of a campaign. And the aim of the campaign is to intimidate NATO allies into not supporting Ukraine.”
Rheinmetall, a manufacturer of artillery shells, infantry fighting vehicles, military drones and the gun on the Leopard 2 tank, has rapidly expanded its production capacity in response to Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The company will produce about 700,000 pieces of artillery next year, compared to just 70,000 in 2022.
Papperger told the FT that Rheinmetall would start production of 155mm shells in western Ukraine “very soon”, while new production facilities in Germany would come on stream next year to produce ammunition and components for the F-35 fighter jet.
When asked about the alleged threat to his life, Papperger said, “I always feel safe. I’m a very happy man.”
A spokesman for the US National Security Council declined to comment specifically on the Papperger case, but added: “Russia’s increasing subversion campaign is something we take extremely seriously and have focused on intensively over the past several months.
“With our NATO allies… we are actively working to expose and disrupt these activities,” the spokesman added. “Russia’s actions will not deter allies from continuing to support Ukraine.”
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington, Guy Chazan in Berlin and Philip Georgiadis in London
This story has been amended to describe Rheinmetall as Europe’s largest munitions manufacturer.