“We take the significant threat from Russia very seriously” and “we are taking steps to protect our homeland,” Berlin said on Friday. Maximilian Kal, representative of the German Ministry of the Interior, responsible for matters of internal security and terrorism. But for now he avoided further comment or new information about the CNN report, which is causing shock and furore in Berlin’s political world.

According to the American network at the beginning of the year the Russia allegedly planned the assassination of the head of the German defense industry giant Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger.

Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall is among the main manufacturers and suppliers of weapons systems for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. Among other things, it manufactures armored fighting vehicles, from the top-of-the-line Leopard to the Marder or Lynx models.

CNN: Wider Russian assassination plot

According to the report, US authorities informed German authorities in early 2024 of impending Russian plans to assassinate Papperger. They were even judged to be at an advanced stage and then Berlin acted to protect the head of the arms industry. In fact, it is alleged that it is not an isolated case, but that it is part of a wider Russian plan of threats and even murders of executives of defense industries, which support Ukraine throughout Europe.

“The German Republic will not let anyone shake it,” said the representative of the Ministry of the Interior, emphasizing that according to the information of the secret services and the Federal Criminal Service, the Russian threats on German soil extend to a wide field: from sabotage, espionage and cyber attacks to state terrorism. He even added that the Russian threats are aimed at weakening Germany’s support for Ukraine, “its defensive struggle against the Russian war of aggression.”

There are already many political reactions in Berlin. “The Putin regime is now also targeting the lives of German citizens,” said Liberal Markus Feber from the Defense Committee of the German Parliament. The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth, speaks of “a model of extermination of Ukraine and of those who support it, as well as of their values”. So far, however, Rheinmetall has not made any comments.

Record orders and new alliances for Rheinmetall

Taking a closer look at the profile of the German defense industry in Dusseldorf, one can easily understand why it is “in the crosshairs” of the Russian intelligence services and the Kremlin.

According to a DW report, signed by Dirk Kaufmann, since the start of the war in Ukraine, Rheinmetall’s stock market value has increased fivefold. It also recently announced that it had signed the biggest deal in its history with the German armed forces for munitions orders worth 8.5 billion euros. These ammunitions are intended both for the needs of the German troops and for sending part of them to Ukraine, Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark.

At the same time, the Düsseldorf defense industry is also investing in new strategic agreements with other European armaments industries, such as the Czech RMMV, which manufactures special forces personnel carriers, and the Italian Leonardo, which manufactures tanks. Armin Papperger is behind these new partnerships and has repeatedly advocated the development of new, common European weapon systems that could replace the Leopard 2 or Leclerc in the future.