Slovak police prevent arson attack on Ukrainian company Skyeton’s factory

Slovakia has detained perpetrators who were planning to set fire to a drone manufacturing plant. The facility belongs to Ukrainian defence tech company Skyeton, a company representative confirmed to Defender Media.

According to the investigation, the three suspects had planned to use napalm. Had the arson taken place, around 70 employees present at the site could have been injured. The attack would also have caused material damage – the value of the property in the production workshop reaches tens of millions of euros.

The attackers’ nationality has not been disclosed, only that they were foreign nationals. Two were detained in Slovakia, while a third was arrested by German law enforcement. Police seized an incendiary mixture, tools, mobile phones, a camera and the attack plan from them.

Previously, The Telegraph reported that Russia had launched a new wave of attacks on European weapons factories. Officers of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate are using criminal groups to recruit attackers – often, the latter do not even know they are working for Russia.

Intelligence officials cited say these attacks are organised to avoid triggering NATO’s Article 5 on collective defence.

A Skyeton representative thanked the law enforcement agencies and added that the Russians regularly attempt to attack their production facilities. In May, the occupiers destroyed the company’s Kyiv office. To secure production, the company has moved facilities to different parts of Ukraine and abroad.