Deputy Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber Technologies James Appathurai confirmed that russia planned to kill the CEO of the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger—the assassination attempt was thwarted by U.S. and German intelligence. Politico reported this, according to Espreso on January 28.
This statement marks the first official confirmation from NATO, the U.S., or Germany that a russian plot to assassinate Papperger was in the works—media had previously reported on this in July 2024.
"We have seen incidents of sabotage occurring in NATO countries over the past few years, by which I mean train derailments, arson, attacks on politicians' property, and plots to assassinate industry leaders, such as the publicly known case of the Rheinmetall CEO, but there were other plots as well", - Appathurai stated.
He explained that russia recruits personnel online to carry out such conspiracies, involving "criminal gangs, youth, or migrants" in its operations.
"Typically, these actions are crude, but they are carried out to sow unrest and undermine support for Ukraine", - the NATO official noted.
Appathurai also emphasized that the exposed plan to assassinate the Rheinmetall CEO was part of russia’s broader efforts to target defense industry leaders across Europe.
Speaking to members of the European Parliament, he stated that russia’s strategic doctrine aims to achieve victory through political means, "using any tools available", including political interference and infrastructure sabotage.