Western arms manufacturers appear to face a serious risk of covert actions linked to Russia, after media reports this week that the CEO of a major German arms company had been the target of a foiled assassination supported by Moscow.
CNN was the first to report on the alleged plot, bringing to light anonymous American and Western resources familiar with the matter. The target is Armin Papperger, executive leader of production giant Rheinmetall, which supplies Ukraine with artillery shells and important military vehicles.
The effort to kill Papperger, CNN said, is just one plot of a broader parallel crusade led through Russia in opposition to the Western military-industrial complex on which Kiev relies heavily. The plan was foiled when U. S. intelligence warned their German counterparts.
Newsweek is unable to independently determine this data and has reached out to the Russia Foreign Ministry email for comment.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the accusations, telling reporters at a news conference: “It is very difficult for us to comment on media reports that do not involve serious arguments and are based on anonymous sources. This “It is presented as yet another falsehood, so such reports cannot be taken seriously. “
U. S. and German officials have yet to comment in particular on the alleged plot to kill Papperger. But National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement to CNN that “the escalation of Russia’s subversive crusade is something we take incredibly seriously and have thoroughly addressed. “in recent months. “
“The United States has discussed this factor with our NATO allies and we are actively working together to disclose and disrupt those activities,” he added. “We have also made clear that Russia’s moves will not deter allies from advancing into Ukraine. “
Russia has been accused of leading several obvious sabotage attacks in Europe in recent months, including unexplained fires at sensitive commercial sites in Lithuania, Denmark, Poland and the United Kingdom.
In June, a Russian-Ukrainian man was arrested at a hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport, near Paris, after being injured in an accidental explosion. Authorities investigating the incident have since reported that the man intended to bomb a hardware store north of the capital.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said this week at the NATO summit in Washington, D. C. , that “there have been attacks on factories,” bringing to light Russia’s alleged secret efforts on the continent. Array “This underlines once again that we Europeans will have to protect ourselves as productively as we can and not be naive. ”
U. S. services and the U. S. labor force were also reportedly targeted. In April, two Russian-German nationals were arrested and charged with planning bombings and arson attacks on sites as well as U. S. military sites.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced that it had placed European bases on a higher security alert point due to a “combination of points similar to a single threat. “
David Brennan is Newsweek’s diplomatic correspondent covering global politics and unrest from London, with a focus on NATO, the European Union, and the Russia-Ukraine war. David joined Newsweek in 2018 and has since reported from key locations and summits in Europe and the South Caucasus. This includes detailed reports on the Baltic, Nordic and Central European regions, as well as Georgia and Ukraine. Originally from London, David graduated from the University of Cambridge with a specialization in the History of Empires and Revolutions. You can reach David at d. brennan@newsweek. com and stay with him on Twitter @DavidBrennan100.
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