Papperger is a thorn in Moscow's side because his firm is building a factory in Ukraine to resurrect its arms industry and help the country reduce its reliance on Western assistance. The Russian plot to assassinate him underlines the need to protect Europeans as Moscow is willing to murder private citizens on their soil in a parallel hybrid war it's waging across the West.
CNN's report can't be taken seriously as the Western news outlet neither provided any evidence of the "sophisticated" or "mature" assassination plot nor elaborated on whether Russia sought to carry out the murder directly or through a local proxy. This is another fake story spread by the West to stoke anti-Kremlin sentiments and justify its continuous flow of arms to Ukraine.