America and Germany foiled a Russian plot to assassinate Armin Papperger, the head of a German arms manufacturer supplying weapons for Ukraine, five Western officials told CNN on Thursday.
United States intelligence unearthed the Kremlin’s plan to kill Papperger earlier this year and shared this information with German authorities who in turn protected Papperger, CNN reported. The American warning was reportedly verified by a senior German government official. (RELATED: Biden Privately Approved Ukraine Using American Weapons To Strike Inside Russia: REPORT)
Papperger is the CEO of Rheinmetall, a company that produces much needed artillery shells and war vehicles for Ukraine, the outlet reported. “The necessary measures are always taken in regular consultation with the security authorities,” Rheinmetall spokesman Oliver Hoffman told the outlet.
The US uncovered a plot by the Russian government to kill the CEO of a German arms manufacturer sending weapons to Ukraine https://t.co/d2u01zKFvp
— CNN (@CNN) July 11, 2024
Rheinmetall has greatly expanded its production capacity in response to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war to meet the new demand for military goods.
“We have massively increased our production capacity in many areas and we are continuing to increase it, for example in artillery from 70,000 rounds before the Ukraine war to 700,000 rounds by the end of the year. We have also increased our capacity for military trucks many times over and will hand over more than 1,500 vehicles to the German armed forces this year,” Papperger told Merkur in German.
A high-ranking NATO official emphasized to reporters Tuesday that Russia was running a larger sabotage campaign in the West, CNN reported. “We’re seeing sabotage, we’re seeing assassination plots, we’re seeing arson. We’re seeing things that have a cost in human lives,” the official reportedly said. The official added that Russia engaged in such sabotage to disrupt “the flow of weapons” to Ukraine and undermine support for the country, according to the outlet.
“Russia’s intensifying campaign of subversion is something that we are taking extremely seriously and have been intently focused on over the past few months,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told CNN in a statement. “The United States has been discussing this issue with our NATO Allies, and we are actively working together to expose and disrupt these activities.”
“We have also been clear that Russia’s actions will not deter Allies from continuing to support Ukraine,” Watson reportedly added. Neither the German or Russian embassies in Washington commented on the story, with the German embassy having declined to comment, CNN reported.
