2024-07-16 06:33:00
U.S. and German intelligence foiled Russian plot Earlier this year, the CEO of a major German arms manufacturer that supplied weapons to Ukraine was reportedly assassinated CNN last Thursday.
The victim was Armin Paperger, President of Rheinmetallis a German defense multinational that is crucial to the manufacture of products such as the Panther tank gun sent to Kiev.
The Russian government criticized Milley for his close relationship with Zelensky and warned regarding arms shipments to Ukraine: “This will be considered a hostile act”
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According to consultation from people familiar with the matter BurundiU.S. Secret Service discovered the operation and informed their German counterparts, who They foiled the plot and gave the businessman special protection. although, CNN Five unnamed U.S. and Western officials were quoted as giving the same version.
In this regard, the attack will be A series of Kremlin-orchestrated schemes targeting top brass at European defense companies Providing arms or ammunition to Ukraine to repel a Russian invasion. Along these lines, the conspiracy once morest Papago would be “state of the art.”
After the incident, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock,I’m sure “Russia is waging a hybrid war of aggression”. In this sense, he explained, it is “through sabotage, cyberattacks, GPS disabling that Baltic aircraft can no longer land in neighboring countries.”
He added: “We see attacks on people on European soil. We see attacks on factories. This underlines once once more that we, as Europeans, We must try our best to protect ourselves and not be naive”.
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although, Spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry declined to comment directly on the Rheinmetall report, but said “The German government takes the threat from the Russian regime very seriously”.
“Our security department is very attentive and acts accordingly“We are unable to comment on the details, specific protective measures and intelligence findings,” the spokesman said.
Likewise, the German Interior Minister, Nancy Featherhighlight Security forces’ determination to counter Russian threatAlthough she stressed following being asked regarding the last case that the government “does not comment on individual threats”.
“One thing is very clear: We take the significantly increased threat of Russian aggression very seriously“, he said in a statement to the German news agency Data Protection Authority.
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Feser limited himself to commenting that Berlin was acting together with its international partners and national security authorities to protect Germany and thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans, while insisting that Moscow seeks to weaken German support for Ukraine.
“We will not be intimidated,” he stressed, while confirming that security had been significantly strengthened over the past two years due to the increased threat from Russia. “Threats range from espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks to state terrorism.”he elaborated.
Rheinmetall is one of the major arms companies providing military support to Ukraine. In this sense, he recalled two possible acts of sabotage that were foiled by German counterintelligence services in April, when they were arrested in Bavaria. Two men accused of planning sabotageespecially once morest Germany’s support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
“Our security services are very consistent in their actions. They thwarted a possible German bombing attackshe emphasized. “We will continue to do everything possible to prevent Russian threats to Germany,” the minister concluded.
According to a Rheinmetall spokesperson, Oliver Hoffmansaid the company “cannot comment on matters related to company security.” “Always consult regularly with security authorities and take necessary measures”he added.
Russia calls charges once morest him ‘false’: ‘They do not contain serious arguments’
After the conspiracy once morest Papago was exposed, Russian authorities call accusations once morest Moscow ‘false’ Suspected of attempted murder
“It is difficult for us to comment on messages from various media They contain no serious arguments and are based on anonymous sources“The Kremlin spokesman said, Dimitri Peskov”, he added, “It’s all presented as another lie.
“This information cannot be taken seriously”According to Russian news agencies, he said interfaxfollowing information that U.S. and German intelligence services had dismantled the alleged program.
The role of Paperger and Rheinmetall in the war in Ukraine
Papager has repeatedly publicly expressed support for providing more arms to Ukraine. In this sense, he emphasized at different times that supporting Kiev was important both for the company and for himself.
In itself, Rheinmetall is one of the world’s largest ammunition manufacturers and operates a tank repair shop in western Ukraine. In this sense, the war between Ukraine and Russia has been very profitable for the German company, whose market value has increased fivefold since Moscow attacked Ukrainian territory.
In addition to this, the threat of Russian imperialism was also felt in the Baltic countries of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, where Rheinmetall was also active. Starting in 2022, Group manages a maintenance center in Lithuania In partnership with defense company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.
Accordingly, on June 3, the Lithuanian authorities announced the signing of an agreement with a German company to build a new factory for the production of 155 mm artillery shells, with a business volume of more than 180 million euros. According to Paperger, this shows Rheinmetall is a pillar of international security.
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In addition, on June 20, it was reported that the company had received Largest order to date: The German Armed Forces have ordered ammunition worth up to 8.5 billion euros for their own reserves and for Ukraine. The ammunition should be delivered in early 2025, first to the Bundeswehr, but the Netherlands, Estonia and Denmark will also benefit from the order.
At the same time, on July 1, Rheinmetall announced another record deal: Military vehicle supply order issued by the Bundeswehr. A framework agreement was signed providing for the delivery of up to 6,500 vehicles worth €3.5 billion. With immediate effect, 610 vehicles worth more than 300 million euros have been ordered and 250 will be delivered this year.
European Union and Pan-European Arms Companies Thoughts
also, Europe is forming new alliances to deal with Russian invasion as well as the changing security situation and increasing orders from the defense industry, of which Rheinmetall is part. For example, on July 2, Rheinmetall subsidiary RMMV announced that it would jointly develop a special forces transport vehicle with a Czech manufacturer.
following one day, Rheinmetall and Italian defense group Leonardo form joint venture Used in tank construction. Rome-based Leonardo is one of the world’s largest defense companies, with nearly 54,000 employees and a turnover of more than 15 billion euros last year.
This new company is bidding on the Italian Army’s multi-million dollar armor contract, but We also hope to supply to regions outside of Italy.. The basis of the new system will be Rheinmetall’s Panther and Lynx armored vehicles, and Leonardo will use its own technology to complete these vehicles.
In addition, the company hopes to participate in the planned European Combat System, which will replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc main battle tanks. In this context, In May, Papager proposed the idea of establishing a pan-European arms company..
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