By Servet Gunerigok
WASHINGTON (AA) - The US and Germany foiled a Russian government plot to assassinate the CEO of a prominent German arms manufacturer that supplies artillery shells and military vehicles to Ukraine, according to a report Thursday.
US intelligence uncovered the plot against Armin Papperger earlier this year, CNN reported, citing five American and Western officials.
Papperger is a key figure in Germany's manufacturing support for Kyiv.
Upon learning of the plot, the US alerted Berlin, allowing security services to protect Papperger and thwart the assassination attempt, said the report. A senior German government official confirmed that Berlin was warned by the US about the plot.
The report said Moscow has been conducting a sabotage campaign throughout Europe, primarily through proxies, for more than six months.
"It has recruited local amateurs for everything from arson attacks on warehouses linked to arms for Ukraine to petty acts of vandalism — all designed to stymie the flow of weapons from the West to Ukraine and blunt public support for Kyiv," said CNN.
Papperger's company, Rheinmetall, is Germany's largest and most successful manufacturer of 155mm artillery shells, which are deemed vital in "Ukraine’s grinding war of attrition."
The company is set to open an armored vehicle plant in Ukraine in the coming weeks, an effort, said one intelligence source, that is particularly troubling to Russia.
US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement: "Russia’s intensifying campaign of subversion is something that we are taking extremely seriously and have been intently focused on over the past few months.
"The United States has been discussing this issue with our NATO Allies, and we are actively working together to expose and disrupt these activities," she added.