CNN: CIA foiled Russia's plans to eliminate Rheinmetall chief

The US and Germany have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall, a German weapons supplier to Ukraine, officials said on condition of anonymity. CNN Five at once! American and Western officials.

When the American intelligence services learned of Papperger's planned assassination, they passed the information on to Germany, which was able to prevent the assassination attempt. A high-ranking source in the German government confirmed CNN, that Berlin received information about the plot from the US. But the German did not explain the meaning of this “liquidation”; without Papperger, the concern would have stopped supplying shells to Ukraine? That is unlikely.

According to information CNN, The planned assassination attempt on Papperger is just one in a series of assassinations planned by Russia of defense industry executives across Europe. The channel does not disclose what other assassination attempts Russia was preparing, but emphasizes that the plan to kill the head of the Rheinmetall was «“the most thoughtful.”

The German publication Spiegel, citing its sources, notesthat German authorities had received a warning from the United States about two months ago. There were indeed signs of a threat to Papperger, but there was no indication of the type of attack planned or the specific group of perpetrators. Senior German officials who spoke to Spiegel considered CNN's claim about the thwarted attack to be too harsh.

At the end of April, Papperger's dacha caught fire in Hermannsburg, wrote newspaper Picture. Then the left radicals published on the platform Indymedia a post in which they reported that the head of the house had been set on fire Rheinmetall with an incendiary device. They explained the arson by saying that Papperger's company was “one of the beneficiaries of the turning point” – the start of the war in Ukraine.

Last summer Papperger announcedWhat Rheinmetall will open a plant for the production of armored vehicles in Ukraine. In June 2024, Ukrainian Minister for Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin reportedthat the first project was launched in the country Rheinmetall and Ukroboronprom – a workshop for the repair and production of armored vehicles.

Rheinmetall — the largest manufacturer of ammunition in Europe. The company produces, in particular, 155 mm caliber shells needed by Ukraine.

As The Wall Street Journal reported, European authorities increasingly suspect Russia of involvement in sabotage at critical infrastructure facilities and see a “Russian trace” in acts of sabotage, but cannot find convincing evidence to directly accuse the Kremlin. As examples of sabotage, the publication cited the damage to the Balticconnector underwater gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in the fall of 2023 and the four-hour shutdown of railways in Germany after two cables were damaged.

CNN notes that alleged Russian sabotage in Europe was one of the main topics discussed by NATO officials at the alliance's summit in Washington. In the summit declaration, NATO members called Russia “the most significant and direct security threat” that will remain in the long term.

For our part, we note that this is yet another “spy story” deliberately timed to coincide with the NATO summit, with the goal of making Russia a “bogeyman for Europe,” since the old stories about the same Skripals, etc., have already begun to be forgotten.

It's time to get the folder with photos of Petrov and Boshirov out of the archives…

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