German defence startup CEO in hiding after Russian plot: reports
The head of a German defence startup supplying attack drones to Ukraine has been living in hiding for months due to an alleged Russian assassination plot, reports said Tuesday.
Donaustahl chief Stefan Thumann told broadcaster RTL and magazine Stern in a joint interview that German officials warned him in late 2025 of the plan by Russian intelligence.
The CEO -- whose company makes products including attack and reconnaissance drones, as well as military drone software -- said he has since been effectively living underground.
"I'm fighting a duel with the Russian military intelligence service for my life," he said.
"Constantly changing locations, 24-hour personal security, my private life has ceased to exist," he added.
Prosecutors announced in March the arrest of two so-called "disposable agents" -- often recruited for relatively small sums and given little training -- who allegedly spied on the CEO to prepare the assassination bid.
But the danger against him may not be over, the reports said. RTL cited a German lawmaker who said the plans targeting him were well advanced, and involved using a nerve agent.
The 39-year-old said after the "shock" of learning about the plot, he drew up his will and filled out an organ donor card.
"Things you normally don't really have on your radar at my age," he said.
He sleeps next to his computer and starts working as soon as he wakes up, to avoid dwelling on his personal situation.
The war in Ukraine has become his "very own personal war," he added.
Donaustahl is among a crop of defence tech startups in Germany who have risen to prominence by developing high-tech drones that are increasingly central to the Ukraine conflict.
In 2024, the United States foiled a Russian plot to assassinate the chief executive of German defence giant Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, according to a CNN report.
Rheinmetall is Germany's biggest defence group and a major supplier of ammunition and weaponry to Ukraine.
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