Western intelligence thwarts Russian assassination plot in Germany

Western intelligence agencies have obtained Russian plans for sabotage in Europe. The actions are aimed at entities associated with supporting the Ukrainian army. "One of the most serious is the plan to kill the head of a German arms manufacturer," reports AP, citing a Western government official.

The Associated Press news agency reports that Western intelligence has discovered that Russia is planning assassinations, arson, and other acts of sabotage in Europe against companies and individuals associated with supporting the Ukrainian army.

An official requesting anonymity conveyed that sometimes these activities included recruiting ordinary criminals from abroad to carry out attacks. One of the main plots was the assassination attempt on Armin Papperger, president of the arms company Rheinmetall.

On Thursday, CNN reported, citing American and other Western officials, that U.S. and German intelligence services had thwarted a Russian plot to assassinate Papperger. The website of the weekly Spiegel reported that the corporation's head has been accompanied by security day and night for several months. Rheinmetall is a major supplier of military technology and artillery shells to Ukraine.

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson did not discuss the matter but stated that "the intensified Russian subversive campaign is something we take extremely seriously and have been intensely focusing on for the past few months."

"The United States has discussed this issue with our NATO allies, and we are actively collaborating to expose and disrupt these activities. We have also made it clear that Russia's actions will not stop allies from continuing to support Ukraine," Watson added.

Neither Rheinmetall nor the German government have commented on the planned assassination. The Ministry of the Interior cannot comment on individual threat situations, said Federal Minister of the Interior spokesperson Maximilian Kall.

"We know that the regime of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin primarily wants to weaken our support for Ukraine in its defence against Russia's aggressive war, but the German government will not be intimidated," Kall said. He also emphasised that Germany has tightened security measures since 2022.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on reports of the assassination attempt on Papperger. "All this is again being presented in a false manner, so such reports cannot be taken seriously," he told reporters on Friday.

Much of the information provided by Russian media or government representatives is element of propaganda. Such reports are part of the informational war conducted by the Russian Federation.