The US foreign intelligence service CIA may have committed an assassination attempt on Armin Paperger prevented the CEO of the largest European arms company Rheinmetall. This is reported CNN citing sources within the secret service.
According to the report, the Americans first learned about Russian plans to murder executives of European arms manufacturers whose companies produce weapons for Ukraine around six months ago. This became particularly concrete in Papperger’s case.
Murder should probably have been carried out by hired “amateurs”
The CIA therefore warned the German government and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) early on. Papperger was then given personal protection and the attack was thus prevented. What the plan actually looked like is not known.
However, the Russian government is increasingly trying to hire “amateurs abroad” to carry out intelligence operations on Moscow’s behalf, it is said.
Rheinmetall is one of the largest arms companies in Europe, producing weapons, vehicles and military equipment, among other things. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rheinmetall has received a series of orders from European countries because the products are then passed on to the Ukrainian army as aid supplies.