Germany 'won't be cowed by Russian intimidation' after assassination plot uncovered

US intelligence reportedly discovered a series of Russian plots to kill defence industry executives across Europe who had been supporting Ukraine's war effort

Armin Papperger, chief executive of Rheinmetall, the German arms and automotive manufacturer, is now accompanied by security guards whenever he goes. AP

Germany will not be cowed by Russian intimidation, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Friday, following the emergence of a plot to assassinate the chief executive of arms manufacturer Rheinmetall.

US intelligence reportedly discovered the alleged Russian operation to kill Armin Papperger, who leads the company that has produced artillery shells and military vehicles for Ukraine.

It was among a series of Russian plots to assassinate defence industry executives across Europe supporting Ukraine's war effort, CNN reported.

Washington informed Germany but its security services were able to protect Mr Papperger, it said.

"We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by Russia and will continue to do everything we can to prevent Russian threats in Germany," Ms Faeser said.

One of the world's biggest producers of artillery and tank shells, Rheinmetall has not directly confirmed the reports but said in a statement that "necessary measures are always taken" for security, in regular consultation with security authorities.

The Kremlin denied the reports as fake, based on anonymous sources, and said they could not be taken seriously.

German defence group Hensoldt, which produces radar technology for the IRIS-T air defence system used in Ukraine, said it was reassessing safety measures.

The weapons division for Diehl, the German company that manufactures the IRIS-T and also produces ammunition, said it was monitoring the situation closely and would adapt its security measures if necessary.

In April the German authorities arrested two German-Russian dual citizens on suspicion of plotting sabotage attacks, including on US military facilities, in an attempt to undermine military support for Ukraine.

A Rheinmetall technician helps make ammunition that will be delivered to Ukrainian forces, at its factory in Unterluess, northern Germany. AFP

Germany also accuses Russia of the murder of an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident in Berlin's Tiergarten Park in 2019. The killer, Vadim Krasikov, is serving a life sentence and the court ruled Russia was responsible for state terrorism.

"The Tiergarten murder already showed that Russia does not shy away from assassination attempts here either. We take reports of further murder plans very seriously," said Justice Minister Marco Buschmann.

"Our security forces are well positioned. Russia wants to weaken us, but it will not succeed: we are capable of defending ourselves."

Citing Kremlin documents obtained by a European intelligence service, The Washington Post this week said Russia was making extensive efforts to find recruits for sabotage attacks.

It said the files showed that in July 2023, Kremlin political strategists studied the Facebook profiles of more than 1,200 people they believed were workers at two major German plants – Aurubis and BASF in Ludwigshafen – to identify employees who could be manipulated into stirring unrest, the report said.

Tank gun barrels and towers for Leopard tanks are pictured at a Rheinmetall production line. Reuters

The Kremlin said the allegations of Russian sabotage activity were "no more than a stoking of Russophobic hysteria", the report said.

Rheinmetall's company value and Mr Papperger's public profile have surged with a defence spending boom after the Russian invasion.

Mr Papperger has repeatedly advocated more arms deliveries to Ukraine and urged the German government to increase defence spending to finance them.

In May 2023, Rheinmetall said it had set up a joint venture with Ukrainian state-owned conglomerate Ukroboronprom to build and repair tanks in Ukraine.

Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of current President Vladimir Putin, said Russia would retaliate by hitting any facility Rheinmetall set up in Ukraine.

Mr Papperger is accompanied by security guards whenever he goes. Questions over his personal safety were already in focus when his garden house was set on fire by who tabloid newspaper Bild said were far-left activists.

The Financial Times reported that the levels of protection for Mr Papperger were now similar to those for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The vice-chairman of the parliamentary intelligence oversight committee, conservative politician Roderich Kiesewetter, warned of possible further Russian attacks in Germany.

The foiled assassination attempt on Mr Papperger should "not obscure the fact that Russia has other targets in its sights and is using espionage, sabotage and targeted killings", Mr Kiesewetter told Handelsblatt.

"It is not for nothing that Russia was designated a terrorist state by a German court."