German Intelligence Links Weapon Cache Near Berlin to Russian Assassination Plot

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency believes that a stash of guns and ammunition discovered in a forest outside Berlin last month was intended for use in targeted killings on behalf of Russia, according to reports from the Berlin State police and the Interior Ministry.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said federal prosecutors were examining a suspect in Romania, who is being held on charges of planning parcel‑bomb attacks that could be linked to Moscow. Dobrindt maintained that the weapons cache was rendered inoperable and then monitored closely, but no one approached it during the surveillance period.

While refusing to confirm any direct Russian involvement, Dobrindt emphasised that the case demonstrates a "high threat level" in the country, citing intelligence warnings of planned assassinations of defence industry executives and opposition figures in exile.

The investigation comes after a July 2024 report that Russia had plotted to kill the head of Germany’s largest arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall, and follows a 2021 court ruling that jailed Russian national Vadim Krasikov for a murder in a Berlin park – a crime that prosecutors claimed was ordered by Moscow.