Anger in Germany at ‘Russian plot’ to kill arms firm CEO

According to CNN, the Russian government is planning to assassinate the CEO of Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger | File Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Berlin (dpa) – German politicians voiced their outrage on Friday after a report detailed an alleged Russian plot to assassinate the head of German arms maker Rheinmetall, as a Kremlin spokesman denied any involvement from Moscow.

According to the report, which was published by U.S. broadcaster CNN on Thursday, U.S. intelligence earlier this year uncovered Russian government plans to assassinate Armin Papperger, the chief executive of Rheinmetall. Citing “five U.S. and western officials familiar with the episode,” CNN said German authorities were notified of the plot and subsequently increased security for Papperger at the time. The broadcaster said a German government official confirmed that Berlin had received the warning.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday denied Russia’s involvement in the affair, telling journalists in Moscow that he could not comment on the allegation. “You can’t take such reports seriously,” Peskov said, arguing that the article was unsubstantiated and based on anonymous sources.

German politicians react

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was among politicians from across the country’s political spectrum reacting to the alleged plot on Friday. “We are taking the significantly increased threat of Russian aggression very seriously,” she said, adding: “We will not be intimidated.” Faeser said Germany has ramped up protective measures in the face of Russian threats since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that German politicians and business leaders face constant threats. “It shows what kind of world we live in and how dangerous this world can be,” he said. Opposition figure Roderich Kieswetter, a former member of Germany’s armed forces, called on the government to strengthen the country’s intelligence agencies in the wake of the plot. “It’s about enabling our intelligence services to provide better reconnaissance,” Kiesewetter told public broadcaster ZDF on Friday.

Rheinmetall: a critical supplier for Ukraine

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.

Prime among them is Rheinmetall, one of the largest European suppliers of armour, technology and artillery shells for Ukraine. The firm has greatly expanded its production capacities in recent years and has become the largest manufacturer of artillery ammunition in the western world. Rheinmetall has upped its production of 155-millimetre-calibre rounds from 70,000 per year to 1.1 million, the majority of which is currently being sent to Ukraine. Rheinmetall is investing more than EUR 180 million (USD 195 million) in a new plant in Lithuania to produce 155-millimetre artillery shells. Rheinmetall also operates a maintenance centre in Lithuania with defence company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann for combat vehicles used by NATO forces in the region, as well as Leopard 2 battle tanks given by Germany to Ukraine. Additionally, the company opened a repair workshop for armoured personnel carriers in western Ukraine in June and plans to produce new tanks. Rheinmetall is also building a factory in the town of Weeze, in western Germany, to manufacture components for the centre fuselage of at least 400 F-35s, to be produced there from 2025, in what is the first investment by the German federal government’s EUR 100 billion special fund for the armed forces in a new production facility.

The firm has seen its profits soar amid the war in Ukraine, especially with a series of orders from Germany, and has attempted to soften its image through a heavily-criticized sponsorship of the Borussia Dortmund football team. Last year, when the company had a stock market value of over EUR 10 billion, Papperger told German media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) “A valuation of €17 billion ($18.2 billion) is realistic for Rheinmetall in the medium term.” The Ukraine war boosted the company was up to the DAX index of 40 leading shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, last year. Rheinmetall AG has a market cap of EUR 22.17 billion, today.

Papperger in the spotlight

Rheinmetall’s new-found notoriety has now brought its chief executive Papperger into the centre of a major diplomatic dispute.

Following the publication of the CNN report, Papperger told the London-based Financial Times that German authorities have provided him with “a great level of security.” “I always feel safe. I am a very happy man,” he said.

Unlike some of his rivals in the arms industry, the 61-year-old Papperger has maintained a high profile in recent years, giving media interviews and publicly defending his company’s activities. Papperger recently responded to a question about his greatest success by praising Rheinmetall for being “able to help Ukraine,” saying Ukrainians are “fighting with their blood for the freedom of Europe.”

He was seen at a public appearance in the western German city of Dusseldorf in May accompanied by several plain-clothes police officers, with police cars and patrolmen nearby. The executive’s garden shed was set on fire by activists in April, causing minor damage. Papperger reportedly said he was used to such intimidation, but the Russian plot represents a new level of political threat.

Includes inputs and context from StratPost