US thwarted plot to kill Rheinmetall boss – report

US intelligence discovered earlier this year that the Russian government planned to assassinate Armin Papperger, the chief executive of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, which makes artillery shells and military vehicles for Ukraine, CNN reported.

Rheinmetall is the largest and most successful German manufacturer of the vital 155mm artillery shells that have become key for Ukraine. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Rheinmetall is present in Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Austria. The company is set to open an armoured vehicle plant inside of Ukraine in the weeks ahead, which one insider source said was deeply concerning to Russia.

The plot to kill Papperger was one of a number of Russian plots to assassinate defence industry executives supporting Ukraine’s war effort, five insider sources told the US outlet.

The plan to kill Papperger was reportedly the most mature, according to CNN. When the US learned of the plot, it informed Germany, whose security services protected Papperger. A high-level German government official confirmed that Berlin was warned about the plot by the US.

Rheinmetall spokesman Oliver Hoffman, declined to comment on the report, only saying “the necessary measures are always taken in regular consultation with the security authorities”.

Russia wages sabotage campaign

This year Russia has been organising sabotage campaigns across Europe, aiming to slow the flow of weapons to Ukraine. These now uncovered series of plots explains increasingly tough warnings from NATO officials about the seriousness of the sabotage campaign.

“We’re seeing sabotage, we’re seeing assassination plots, we’re seeing arson. We’re seeing things that have a cost in human lives,” a senior NATO official told reporters on Tuesday. “I believe very much that we’re seeing a campaign of covert sabotage activities from Russia that have strategic consequences.”

The National Security Council (NSC) declined to comment on the reports, NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said “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. The US has been discussing this issue with our NATO allies, and we are actively working together to expose and disrupt these activities,” she added.

Some of the crimes claimed to be part of Russia’s sabotage campaign have not had clear links to the war in Ukraine, however, for example Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s suggestion that a fire at an IKEA in Lithuania could have been the work of Russia.

Russia seeks to undermine trust big European election year

Some analysts have referred to the effort as a “hybrid” campaign, however some at NATO say this underplays Russia’s dirty tricks campaign. “I fundamentally reject the idea that what we’re seeing is a hybrid campaign from Russia,”a senior NATO official told CNN.

US military bases across Europe have meanwhile been placed on a heightened state of alert for the first time in a decade after the US received intelligence that Russian-backed actors were considering sabotage attacks against US military personnel and facilities, multiple sources told CNN.

“They’re doing it now because they believe that as there are a number of elections happening throughout the west, that this is a prime opportunity to try to undermine public support for Ukraine,” the senior NATO official said.

“The official added that Russia sees a window of opportunity before additional weapons and ammunition promised by the west arrive on the battlefield in Ukraine. For Russia, this “is a prime time to target the west in these types of operations to try to undermine support and prevent the flow of weapons there,” the source added.