NATO official ties assassination plot against Rheinmetall CEO to Russian sabotage campaign
Sabotage acts in NATO countries in recent years have included threats to assassinate weapons industry leaders, particularly the German arms maker Rheinmetall's CEO Armin Papperger, NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary-General James Appathurai said on Jan. 28.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Russian hybrid operations aimed at destabilizing the situation in the countries that support Ukraine have intensified.
Speaking at the European Parliament, Appathurai confirmed the threats against Papperger, which had previously been circulating only in the media, Reuters reported.
In July 2024, U.S. and German intelligence discovered a Russian-linked plot to assassinate Papperger, according to CNN. Following the incident, Germany provided Papperger with the same top-level security as Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In April 2024, supporters of the left-wing extremist RAF movement announced that they had burned down Papperger's garden house, accusing him of "profiting" from arms sales.
Appathurai also said that the West had sometimes succeeded in stopping Russia from committing acts of sabotage by setting red lines at the highest level. One example is when incendiary devices destined for DHL flights were detected in a German warehouse.
According to Appathurai, the sabotage campaign included "derailment of trains, acts of arson, attacks on politicians' property, threats to plot to assassinate industry leaders like, publicly, the head of Rheinmetall, but there were other plots as well."
Appathurai added that NATO characterizes the current level of sabotage as a "record high."
NATO allies clearly understand that they "need to be more robust" in responding to recurring incidents, particularly in the Baltic Sea, he added.
NATO aims to agree on a strategy for tackling hybrid threats before the alliance's summit in The Hague at the end of June, according to Reuters.
Rheinmetall provides weapons and equipment to Ukraine under contracts with the German government, such as Leopard 1 tanks, mortar shells, and drone surveillance systems, among other weapons.
In late July, Rheinmetall announced that it had received an order from the Ukrainian government to begin the construction of an ammunition factory in Ukraine. The company previously said it planned to open at least four factories in the country.
