German politicians are outraged after a CNN report detailed an alleged Russian plot to assassinate Armin Papperger, the head of German arms maker, Rheinmetall.
The company has been key in providing German military aid to Ukraine.
According to the CNN report published on Thursday, U.S. intelligence uncovered plans by the Russian government to assassinate Papperger, the chief executive of Rheinmetall, earlier this year.
CNN cited “five U.S. and western officials familiar with the episode.’’
German authorities said they were notified of the plot and as a result increased security for Papperger at the time.
The U.S. broadcaster said a German government official confirmed that Berlin had received the warning.
Rheinmetall has so far not commented on the report.
The chairman of the Defence Committee in the German parliament, Marcus Faber, 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.
“The Putin regime is now also seeking the lives of German citizens,’’ Faber told Germany’s Bild tabloid.
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth, 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 criticised 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 armour 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 armoured 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 series of planned attacks on the leadership of arms makers across Europe that supplies Ukraine with weapons.
German defence policy expert Serap Güler, from the conservative opposition Christian Democrats, told Bild.
“In my opinion, our response to this can only be increased with support for Ukraine.’’
Foreign policy expert Roth, from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, called for a German response that mirrors “the rigour 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. (dpa/NAN
