Fire at military drone factory in Poland investigated as terrorism with links to Russia
A fire at a military drone factory in Skarżysko-Kamienna is being investigated as sabotage linked to the Kremlin. Security cameras captured a masked individual installing an explosive device.
Poland points finger at Russia following sabotage at military drone factory
Polish Deputy Interior Minister Czesław Mroczek confirmed on Tuesday that the fire that broke out in the early hours of Monday at the WB Electronics facility in Skarżysko-Kamienna, southern Poland, shows clear signs of sabotage. According to CNN Portugal, Mroczek stated that the link to Russia is "evident".
Speaking to radio station RMF FM, the deputy minister emphasised that "we have been dealing with acts of sabotage for several years, not only in our country, but across Europe, mainly in countries that support Ukraine, with the aim of preventing these societies and countries from supporting it".
The factory's security cameras recorded a masked individual entering the premises and installing an explosive device containing flammable material. The fire began shortly after 00:00 and completely destroyed a storage and production building in the complex. No casualties were reported, as the unit was closed and empty at the time of the incident. The prosecution estimates the damage at a minimum of four million euros.
The investigation is being conducted by Poland's National Prosecutor's Office in collaboration with the Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the Military Counter-Intelligence Service, under the hypothesis of terrorism and collaboration with foreign intelligence services.
The affected factory is owned by the WB Group, one of Poland's largest private defence groups. The company specialises in drones, command systems, radios and precision-strike munitions, including the Warmate family. The company had scheduled the presentation of its latest products at the MSPO international arms fair in Kielce, where it planned to launch the Gladius II — described by the company itself as "a next-generation unmanned system with a range of hundreds of kilometres, high speed and reduced radar signature".
The incident is part of a recent sequence of cases attributed to Russian operations on Polish territory. In August, a Russian citizen was detained in Warsaw accused of planning the assassination of a Ukrainian-American. A Ukrainian was also detained on suspicion of attempting to attack a prominent figure in the Ukrainian arms industry. The Polish government attributes these cases to a campaign of sabotage and espionage coordinated by Moscow.
Source: CNN Portugal