US and Germany thwart Russian assassination attempt on Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger over his arms support for Ukraine, — CNN.

According to sources, this attack was part of a series of Russian plots to assassinate defense industry executives across Europe who supported Ukraine’s war effort.

When the Americans discovered the plot, they informed Germany, whose security services were able to protect Papperger and foil the attempt. A senior German government official confirmed that Berlin had been warned about the plot by the US.

The intelligence officers who testified about Russia’s willingness to target private individuals highlighted to Western officials the extent of Moscow’s actions in the shadow war it is waging in the West.

“We see sabotage, assassination plots, and arson. We see actions that cost human lives. I strongly believe that we are witnessing a campaign of covert Russian sabotage with strategic implications,” a high-ranking NATO representative told journalists on Tuesday.

The National Security Council refused to comment on the existence of the Russian conspiracy or the US warning to Germany. However, NSC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement:

“Russia’s escalating subversive campaign is something we take extremely seriously and have been closely monitoring over the past few months. The United States is discussing this matter with our NATO allies, and we are actively working together to expose and stop this activity. We have also made it clear that Russia’s actions will not prevent Alliance members from continuing to support Ukraine.”