NATO accuses Russia of plotting to assassinate the head of a major EU weapons manufacturer
A senior NATO official has claimed that Moscow was reportedly involved in an assassination attempt against the CEO of Rheinmetall. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Moscow has been accused of targeting the head of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, according to a senior official from the US-led military bloc.
During a European Parliament committee meeting focused on hybrid warfare on Tuesday, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber James Appathurai attributed a series of sabotage incidents and assassination plots across NATO nations to Russia. He specifically cited attempts to kill industry leaders, including the head of Rheinmetall.
“We have seen incidents of sabotage taking place across NATO countries over a period of the last couple of years, by which I mean derailment of trains, acts of arson, attacks on politicians’ property, plots to assassinate industry leaders, like publicly the head of Rheinmetall, but there were other plots as well,” Appathurai claimed, although he did not provide any evidence to support his assertions.
The supposed plot against Armin Papperger, the head of Rheinmetall, was the only assassination attempt mentioned by Appathurai.
Appathurai further claimed that Russia has been enlisting “criminal gangs or unwitting youth or migrants” to execute sabotage operations in NATO territories. He stated that while these alleged attacks tend to be “generally crudely done,” their purpose is to “create disquiet to undermine support for Ukraine.”
The alleged plot against Papperger was initially reported by CNN last July, which indicated that the plan was thwarted after US intelligence alerted their German counterparts. The Rheinmetall CEO did not confirm or deny the incident but suggested that CNN was unlikely to fabricate such a story. “I think CNN is not just looking up at the sky,” he remarked to the Financial Times when commenting on the initial report.
In response to these claims, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report as lacking substance and credibility. “It is very hard for us to comment on reports from various media outlets that don’t contain any serious argumentation whatsoever and are based on some anonymous sources,” Peskov stated at the time.
Jessica Kline for TROIB News
During a European Parliament committee meeting focused on hybrid warfare on Tuesday, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber James Appathurai attributed a series of sabotage incidents and assassination plots across NATO nations to Russia. He specifically cited attempts to kill industry leaders, including the head of Rheinmetall.
“We have seen incidents of sabotage taking place across NATO countries over a period of the last couple of years, by which I mean derailment of trains, acts of arson, attacks on politicians’ property, plots to assassinate industry leaders, like publicly the head of Rheinmetall, but there were other plots as well,” Appathurai claimed, although he did not provide any evidence to support his assertions.
The supposed plot against Armin Papperger, the head of Rheinmetall, was the only assassination attempt mentioned by Appathurai.
Appathurai further claimed that Russia has been enlisting “criminal gangs or unwitting youth or migrants” to execute sabotage operations in NATO territories. He stated that while these alleged attacks tend to be “generally crudely done,” their purpose is to “create disquiet to undermine support for Ukraine.”
The alleged plot against Papperger was initially reported by CNN last July, which indicated that the plan was thwarted after US intelligence alerted their German counterparts. The Rheinmetall CEO did not confirm or deny the incident but suggested that CNN was unlikely to fabricate such a story. “I think CNN is not just looking up at the sky,” he remarked to the Financial Times when commenting on the initial report.
In response to these claims, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report as lacking substance and credibility. “It is very hard for us to comment on reports from various media outlets that don’t contain any serious argumentation whatsoever and are based on some anonymous sources,” Peskov stated at the time.
Jessica Kline for TROIB News
