Russia May Assassinate Europe's Defense Bosses: Spy Agencies

Western intelligence agencies have warned European defense executives of intensifying Russian efforts to assassinate them, pushing companies to strengthen personal protection as Moscow seeks to erode support for Ukraine.

Officials from five European intelligence agencies told the Financial Times that the targets include senior figures at major arms manufacturers and smaller businesses, particularly those producing drones and components.

Some executives said they had expanded their protection over the past six months following specific advice from government security services.

Others employed bodyguards when traveling abroad.

The warnings reflect a broader Kremlin push to expand sabotage and hybrid operations across Europe amid a battlefield stalemate in Ukraine and economic difficulties at home, according to the intelligence accounts.

European services said attacks on civilians, previously treated as a taboo even within Russian intelligence, were becoming a more prominent element of Moscow’s plans.

Germany Urges Greater Protection

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, has stepped up contact with defense industry staff and management.

Its recommendations include hiring private close-protection teams, an agency official said.

“Russia is engaged in the deliberate planning of acts of violence against individuals by state or state-controlled actors,” BfV chief Sinan Selen told German lawmakers on Monday.

He said the agency was seeing changes in the targets, methods and participants involved, including greater use of organized crime networks.

Security services have intercepted and disrupted some active plots. Other cases involve suspicious surveillance of executives’ movements and routines around their homes and workplaces.

Intelligence Operations Become More Fragmented

Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, carries much of the responsibility for assassination operations, according to intelligence sources.

They said its officers were increasingly working with criminal groups and networks spanning national borders.

Tasks such as surveillance, logistical support, planning and execution were being distributed among separate operatives or cells.

That approach marks a shift from dependence on individual recruits enlisted online and paid to carry out a mission.

Officials cautioned that many Russian operations remained poorly executed and relatively straightforward to thwart.

However, the breadth of the threat has complicated efforts to distinguish hostile activity from innocent behavior.

In August, Swedish authorities arrested two young Russian tourists who had camped near the property of Saab chief executive Micael Johansson.

Both were released soon afterward.

Fear As a Means of Pressure

Intelligence officials said Moscow could achieve part of its objective without completing an assassination.

“The main goal from the Russian perspective is still psychological,” one official said.

The intended pressure, the official added, was to make people reconsider commercial ties with Ukraine by convincing them they could become targets.

Security consultants reported growing demand for advice from defense businesses and companies in energy and critical infrastructure.

Claudine Fry, a London-based partner at Control Risks, said assassination risks were “definitely an issue that is much higher on the radar now”.

The financial burden is also growing. Industry executives said protecting personnel and facilities could strain smaller companies, especially start-ups.

One said a production facility in western Europe had recently been relocated because of Russian threats.

The latest warnings broaden concerns that intensified in early 2024, when U.S. and German intelligence uncovered a Russian plot targeting Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger.

Intelligence sources initially viewed that operation as an attempt at a single prominent assassination.

Papperger, a vocal supporter of supplying weapons to Ukraine, has said private guards and police now provide him with protection around the clock.