Russia plotted to assassinate the CEO of a German arms firm making weapons for Ukraine as the Kremlin ramps up its covert campaign against the West

• Russia plotted to assassinate an executive of a German armaments firm, CNN reported.

• The reported target was Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger.

• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the CNN report.

US intelligence helped thwart a Russian plot to kill the CEO of a German arms firm that has made munitions and military equipment for Ukraine, according to reports.

Russia planned to kill Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall, which has made artillery shells, tanks, and other military equipment for Ukraine during the country's battle against Russian forces, CNN reported, citing five US and Western officials familiar with the situation.

German security services were able to foil the plot by providing Papperger with extra security after receiving a tip-off from US intelligence, the report said.

Papperger was one of a number of defense industry executives that Russia had planned to kill, the unnamed sources said, the report added.

According to the German publication Der Spiegel, the main reason for the Russian plot was Rheinmetall's plan to create a tank factory in Ukraine while building up the local arms industry.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the CNN report.

"It is very hard for us to comment on reports by various news media that don't contain any serious arguments and are based on some anonymous sources," Peskov said, per Russia's Tass news agency. "All this is presented in the style of fake stories. One can't treat such reports seriously."

German politicians have reacted with shock and anger to the CNN report, with foreign minister Annalena Baerbock telling reporters at a NATO summit that Russia is "waging a hybrid war of aggression."

Analysts say that Russia is stepping up campaigns to destabilize the West using covert methods, including arson plots, interfering with airline GPS signals, and pushing disinformation.

"We're seeing sabotage, we're seeing assassination plots, we're seeing arson. We're seeing things that have a cost in human lives," a senior NATO official told reporters earlier this week, per CNN. "I believe very much that we're seeing a campaign of covert sabotage activities from Russia that have strategic consequences."

According to experts who spoke to Business Insider earlier this year, Russia is seeking to internally weaken NATO members as part of a plan to undermine support for Ukraine.

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