German drone manufacturer supplying Ukraine guarded by bodyguards carrying Novichok antidote

Stefan Tumann, a 39-year-old German entrepreneur whose company Donautal supplies combat and reconnaissance drones to Ukraine, has become a target for Russian intelligence services. According to German authorities, an assassination attempt using the nerve agent Novichok was being planned against him, and the businessman has spent more than a year living in complete isolation under round-the-clock protection.

Donautal was founded in 2020 as a manufacturer of equipment for hunters and sport shooters, but with the outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion the company shifted to producing military equipment for the Ukrainian army, which has been repelling Russian aggression for nearly five years now.

A bodyguard carrying the antidote

"I live in complete isolation. Without my family. I only live with my bodyguards," Tumann told the German outlet Bild. Among his security detail is a medic trained to respond in the event of poisoning, who always carries antidotes with him — including one for Novichok. According to German intelligence, this was precisely the substance the Russians were preparing to use against the entrepreneur.

Tumann communicates with his family exclusively through encrypted apps. Despite constant protection, he has also prepared legally for the worst-case scenario: he has drawn up a will and signed consent for his organs to be used for transplantation should they prove viable. He has also instructed his colleagues at Donautal not to halt production at the plant even if it comes under attack.

"I've arranged everything in case something happens to me one day. It won't affect the company in any way," Tumann said. According to the Danish outlet Dagbladet Børsen, German authorities first warned him of the threat shortly before last Christmas. "Within just a few hours, one person was detained," the businessman said.

Watching the watchers

To identify the agents attempting to track him down, Tumann installed continuous video surveillance at every address he frequented. This allowed police to identify the operatives gathering information on his daily routine and movements — data that another group of agents would have needed to plan an attack.

"I am engaged in a fight to the death with Russian military intelligence. What's happening here can no longer be described by the term 'hybrid warfare'," the businessman told the magazine Stern. "This is something far more serious — a genuine act of war, coordinated and directed by Russia's armed forces. Germany and Russia are in a state of war," Tumann concluded.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz