Observers are warning of a wave of sabotage acts in Europe, carried out by hired foreigners under a false flag - most likely controlled by Russian secret services. Just last week, Slovak security forces managed to thwart a planned arson attack. According to their information, the target was a Ukrainian drone factory in eastern Slovakia.
The consequences of such an arson attack would have been devastating. The target of the attack was the Skyeton company in Haniska near Presov, said police chief Jana Maskarova. Drones are manufactured there. "At the time of the planned attack, around 70 people could have been there. According to our current knowledge, the value of the production facility is tens of millions of euros," explains Maskarova.
Three suspects were arrested in Slovakia and another person in Germany. Two are Latvians, two are Ukrainians. Skyeton is a Ukrainian company that is currently expanding rapidly, including into Germany. It is considered a leading manufacturer of reconnaissance drones, the “Raybirds 3”. Skyeton has relocated part of its production to neighboring Slovakia.
Ukraine has established itself as a world power in the development of drones: they are inexpensive and battle-tested. The arms industry in Slovakia is also experiencing a boom - despite Prime Minister Robert Fico's Russia-friendly rhetoric. It has stopped state arms deliveries to Kiev, but partially state-owned and, above all, private companies are also producing on a large scale for Ukraine and its allies, at more and more locations in Slovakia.
Therefore, President Peter Pellegrini warns: "I would like to ask the government of Slovakia not to take this situation lightly and to seriously address this attack and the possible risks of further attacks."
Defense Secretary Robert Kalinak confirmed investigations into other possible attack targets in recent months. However, the Skyeton drone factory did not have a license to export to the east, only to the west. At first glance, this speaks against Russia as a possible sponsor of the attack.
Just like an alleged confession video from the little-known group “Global Citizens against War 1984”. "We take full responsibility for this action. This means we are moving to the active phase of our peace campaign," Slovak television quoted her as saying. According to the police, however, the images are AI-generated.
For security expert Radovan Branik, this is an obvious attempt to reinterpret the planned arson attack as a private action. “It is completely understandable that neither Greenland nor Antarctica is behind such an operation. Who is currently benefiting the most from it is solely the Russian Federation,” said Branik.
Slovak investigators see possible parallels to an actual attack in the Czech Republic. In March, a production hall belonging to the defense company LPP Holding went up in flames in Pardubice. Eleven foreign suspects were arrested.
The alleged pro-Palestinian group "The Earthquake Fraction" claimed responsibility for the attack. The aim was to destroy weapons for Israel. LPP Holding had announced a collaboration with an Israeli drone manufacturer, but never implemented it. Instead, it produces drones for Ukraine, for example.
The Czech Republic is also investigating a possible false flag operation. The Czech domestic secret service accuses Russia of specifically targeting supporters of Ukraine, said spokesman Ladislav Sticha in an interview with the ARD studio in Prague.
“Russia is trying to attack all of Europe in a hybrid way,” says Sticha. Attempts are being made on social networks to recruit so-called one-off agents who are willing to carry out a wide variety of acts of sabotage for little money. Several such cases have also been investigated in the Czech Republic and the number of such attempts is constantly increasing.
