The CEO of Germany’s leading defense industry corporation escaped assassination by Russian operatives earlier this year thanks to the timely cooperation and information sharing between the United States and Germany. Armin Papperger, the head of the massive Rheinmetall conglomerate, was targeted for death by Russia because of his company’s central role in arming and supplying Ukraine. According to reports, US intelligence uncovered the plot and enabled German counterintelligence and security forces to put Papperger under close protection. The missing part of this story is the German GSG9 hauling the Russian assets off to prison. The assassination operatives and planners are still at large.
This episode is not a one-off. It is part of a campaign of hybrid warfare that is being actively waged against the West by Russia as part of its campaign to eradicate Ukraine.
Hybrid warfare involves blending kinetic and non-kinetic actions to exploit an enemy’s weaknesses without crossing the line between peace and war. It blends kinetic operations carried out by special operations forces or local proxies with cyberattacks, economic pressure, fake news, and even social media manipulation. The goal is to confuse and weaken an opponent without a clear-cut declaration of war. Imagine using special forces alongside hackers and social media influencers to disrupt a nation from within, all while staying below the radar of a full-blown military response. In the current case, Russia wants to keep NATO off balance and damage critical assets, but it doesn’t want to tickle that fine line between painful annoyance and an Article 5 consultation. […]
– Read More: redstate.com
