Russian plot to kill European weapons chief foiled by US and Germany
Russian plot to kill European weapons chief foiled by US and Germany
Rheinmetall is Germany’s largest manufacturer of 155mm artillery shells, a crucial resource for Ukrainians defending themselves against Russia’s war.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/24848057
Why is this not a NATO trigger? A legit question.
Because he's not a military officer, he's the CEO of a company that manufactures weapons.
It's very much "declare war" adjacent, but it isn't crossing the line as far as NATO is concerned.
Russia has already kidnapped and killed people inside of Europe. I guess it gets treated like espionage.
tends to be their own unfortunate civilians though, right?
at least those targeted, not the collateral
It would be Germany's prerogative to treat it as an act of war. If Germany declines, then there's no trigger.
The later NATO gets into the conflict the longer Russia burns themselves out uncontested. If they're not farming the enemy for resources, as defensive alliances don't do, then they'll probably enter the conflict with an overwhelming resource advantage. That's the strategic angle, and from what I've heard NATO hasn't exactly taken this lying down either.
Yeah, I get it: Sow fear and distrust.
But this isn't Russia where you cut of the head of an organisation and it suddenly falters such as Wagner. Rheinmetall wouldn't stop or even slow down production. Got to keep that revenue going for the shareholders.
I'm guessing it would've been to scare the replacement, but even then, I don't see weapons slowing down. I think it would have the opposite effect.
Yay captialism?
Nah, yay delegation of power.
It's the same reason why a modern democratic state is unlikely to crumble when a president gets assassinated: No single person holds all the power and succession is codified. Which is not the case in corruption ridden systems like Russia. There is going to be chaos should Putin not wake up tomorrow.
I guess Chinese and Iranian arms manufacturers are fair game now.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
BERLIN — The U.S. and Germany foiled a Russian plot to assassinate the chief executive of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger.
The plan to kill the CEO was part of a series of Russian plots to assassinate defense industry executives across Europe, CNN reported Thursday, citing U.S. and Western intelligence officials.
Rheinmetall is Germany's largest and most successful manufacturer of 155mm artillery shells, a critical asset for the Ukrainians in their war against Russia.
The company is also opening an armored vehicle plant inside Ukraine in the coming weeks, a development which is concerning for Russia, according to CNN.
The German Interior Ministry declined to comment specifically on CNN's report in an email to POLITICO, but a spokesperson said: "Our security authorities are very vigilant and act accordingly, in close cooperation with our international partners."
The plot against Papperger was the Russian government's most sophisticated plan, CNN's report states.
The original article contains 279 words, the summary contains 150 words. Saved 46%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Ugh, Russia needs their ass kicked.