German drone startup CEO lives in hiding after Russian assassination plot claim
Stefan Thumann, head of the Bavarian drone maker Donaustahl, says Russian agents have plotted to kill him and he now stays under constant guard.
The founder and chief of Donaustahl, a small Bavarian firm that mass-produces inexpensive drones for the Ukrainian military, reports that Russian intelligence has plotted his murder. German officials alerted him in December 2025 to a specific danger, confirming that a Russian-backed assassination attempt was being prepared. Since then, Thumann lives a nomadic, heavily guarded life, constantly changing residences and limiting family visits to vetted, secret sites.
He says two suspects, described as "disposable" agents recruited through social-media channels for modest sums, have been linked to his case. Thumann argues that his decentralized, low-cost production model has drawn Moscow’s ire, and he warns that any European defence company could become a target. He also notes similar attempts, including a thwarted plot against Rheinmetall’s CEO and a drone attack at Leipzig airport, underscoring a wider Russian campaign of sabotage and espionage against German defence and critical infrastructure.
