Foiled napalm attack on drone factory near Prešov: three foreigners charged
Slovak police have thwarted an arson attack on a plant manufacturing unmanned systems near Prešov. Three foreigners have been charged, and General Macko warns of hybrid threats.
Police halt planned napalm attack on drone factory near Prešov
Officers from the organised crime unit of the Office for the Fight Against Organised Crime (ÚBOK) have foiled a planned incendiary attack on a manufacturing plant for unmanned systems in eastern Slovakia. According to Nový Čas, the target of the attack was to have been a facility operated by Ukrainian company Skyeton, which produces advanced drones in the region.
An investigator charged three foreigners with preparation of a particularly serious crime of general endangerment. Two of them were detained in Slovakia itself; a third was detained by German authorities on the basis of a European arrest warrant.
Napalm, plans and action camera
Police seized a significant quantity of incendiary mixture, tools, mobile telephones, an action camera and a hand-drawn plan of the facility during the operation. Preliminary expert assessment identified a mixture of petrol and polystyrene — a substance classified as napalm. The investigation is continuing, and police do not rule out a change to the legal classification.
According to police, the attack could have caused a widespread fire, endangered approximately 70 workers at the factory and caused large-scale damage. The operation was carried out on the basis of information from the Slovak Information Service and Military Intelligence.
Macko: Security forces acted in time
Retired general Pavel Macko commented on the case. In an interview with the newspaper Plus JEDEN DEŇ, he said that the factory itself does not present an extraordinary risk compared to other industrial enterprises, since the drones produced there contain no munitions elements. "In this case it is standard manufacturing equipment, because these drones that are there do not have munitions elements," he explained.
According to Macko, the primary security risk is therefore the fact that someone chose this particular factory as a target. "Rather it is a security risk from the fact that this factory became a target of attack precisely because it manufactures what it manufactures," he said.
The general praised the approach of intelligence and police units, which managed to intervene before the attack was carried out. "The elements of security measures worked in so far as the attack itself had not yet taken place. The intelligence service and also criminal intelligence worked in such a way that it was possible to prevent it," Macko said.
Part of a broader pattern of hybrid sabotage?
Macko at the same time warned against viewing this incident as an isolated case. According to him, hundreds of attempts at various forms of sabotage are occurring across Europe. "Behind some are Russians, behind some are not. This will likewise have to be investigated," he added.
The general pointed to a characteristic element of hybrid operations — the use of proxy executors. "Usually the primary actor hires other people. That means recruiting, if possible, from the domestic population," Macko explained.
Context: Attack on munitions facility in Pardubice
The case near Prešov is not unique. In March 2026, a fire struck a storage hall in an industrial zone on Dělnická street in Pardubice. A neighbouring building belonging to company LPP Holding, which manufactures drones and military technology, was also damaged. Czech police are investigating the case as intentional arson and a terrorist act. An until then unknown group called Earthquake Fraction claimed responsibility for the attack. In connection with the case, several suspected persons were detained in the Czech Republic and other European countries. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš convened the State Security Council after the attack and called on munitions firms to strengthen protection of their facilities.
Call for increased protection of strategic enterprises
Macko concluded by emphasising the need to increase protection of strategic manufacturing enterprises in Slovakia — not only those involved in unmanned systems, but also factories working with munitions or other military material. "All these factories, including especially those with munitions elements, whether it is in Strážske or in other parts of Slovakia, will have to significantly increase security measures," he stressed.
According to him, the case clearly shows that the threat of similar attacks has ceased to be merely theoretical. "We see that this is not a hypothetical possibility, that such attacks can really be in the sights of some actors," Macko concluded.
Source: Nový Čas