Russia plots to kill heads of European defense companies, report says

Western intelligence services have warned the heads of European arms companies that Russia is stepping up attempts to kill them. The British business newspaper reported this on Sunday. As a result, companies are tightening security for their top executives.

According to the paper, the Kremlin, partly because of the stalemate on the front in Ukraine, has ordered an expansion of sabotage and “hybrid” operations in Europe in order to significantly weaken support for Kyiv in the coming months. “Killings of European civilian targets, which were previously considered taboo even for Russian intelligence services, are an increasingly important part of these plans,” the article says.

Smaller firms could be targeted too

The newspaper spoke to representatives of five European intelligence services. They warned that the Kremlin is targeting not only the heads of arms companies but also senior employees. According to the sources, the heads of smaller firms, above all those involved in producing drones or their components, are also in the crosshairs. “The level of danger in Europe has risen, for property but also for people,” a senior European intelligence officer said.

On Monday, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, Sinan Selen, warned German lawmakers of the risk. “Russia is deliberately planning violent acts against individuals through state or state-controlled perpetrators,” he said. German counterintelligence, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has therefore significantly stepped up contacts with employees and management of German arms firms, one of its representatives said. The recommendations include private security.

Plots have already been foiled

Executives at some companies said that over the past six months they have strengthened their personal security on the direct recommendation of state security agencies. Others use such measures only when travelling.

In a number of cases, specific plans have been uncovered and thwarted, as in 2024, when the target was Armin Papperger, head of the major German company Rheinmetall. In other cases, suspicious activity was recorded, including surveillance of people’s habits at home and at work.

Security service representatives stressed that for the Russian campaign, assassinations do not even have to happen. “From the Russian point of view, the main goal is psychological,” one of them said. “The very feeling that you could become a target achieves their aim. They want people to think twice before doing business with Ukraine.”

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz