German politicians expressed outrage following a CNN report that revealed an alleged Russian plot to assassinate Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall, a crucial supplier of military aid to Ukraine.
The CNN report, published Thursday, cites U.S. intelligence sources who uncovered plans by the Russian government earlier this year to target Papperger. German authorities were promptly informed of the threat, leading to heightened security measures for Papperger during that period.
The U.S. broadcaster said a German government official confirmed that Berlin had received the warning.
Rheinmetall has not commented on the report.
Marcus Faber, chairperson of the Defense Committee in the German parliament, was among those who immediately reacted to the alleged plot.
“It shows once again that Russia is also bringing its war and terror to Europe,” Faber told Germany’s Bild tabloid. “The Putin regime is now also seeking the lives of German citizens.”
Michael Roth, chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told Bild that Russian President Vladimir Putin “isn’t only waging a war of annihilation against Ukraine, but also against its supporters and our values.”
Rheinmetall boss Papperger, who has openly criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022, is said to have had personal security for some time.
Rheinmetall is one of the largest European suppliers of armor technology and artillery shells for Ukraine and, according to its own account, the largest manufacturer of artillery ammunition in the Western world.
In June, the company opened a repair workshop for armored personnel carriers in western Ukraine. It also has plans to produce new tanks.
According to CNN, the foiled assassination attempt against Papperger was part of a series of planned attacks on the leadership of arms makers across Europe that supply Ukraine with weapons.
German defense policy expert Serap Güler, from the conservative opposition Christian Democrats, told Bild: “In my opinion, our response to this can only be increased support for Ukraine.”
Foreign policy expert Roth, from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, called for a German response that mirrors “the rigor of the democratic constitutional state.”
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in comments on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington that Russia was waging a hybrid war of aggression. “Both individuals and companies have been attacked on European territory,” she said.
