Fire at drone components plant deliberate act of sabotage: Polish premier

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday there was no doubt that a fire at a defense plant producing components for unmanned systems was deliberately started in an act of sabotage.

The fire broke out early Monday at a WB Electronics facility in the south-central city of Skarzysko-Kamienna, where components for unmanned systems used by the Polish and Ukrainian militaries are produced.

"In the case of Skarzysko-Kamienna, there is no doubt that there was deliberate arson, in other words, an act of sabotage," Tusk told reporters ahead of a government meeting on Wednesday.

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into suspected activity on behalf of a foreign intelligence service and a terrorism-related offense.

According to the National Prosecutor's Office, the fire was deliberately started using a device containing flammable materials. Warehouse premises were destroyed and damage has been estimated at least 15 million zlotys ($4 million).

No one has so far been charged.

Polish officials said surveillance footage recorded a masked person entering the plant before the fire. Deputy Interior Minister Czeslaw Mroczek said on Tuesday that the suspect had gained access to the site and that the nature of the target meant investigators were examining the possibility of foreign, including Russian, involvement.

Authorities have not publicly identified who ordered or carried out the attack.

WB Electronics is part of WB Group, one of Poland's largest private defense manufacturers. Its unmanned systems, including FlyEye reconnaissance drones and Warmate loitering munitions, are used by Ukraine's armed forces.

Tusk also referred to a second fire over the weekend at a production and warehouse facility belonging to JFG Composites in the eastern city of Lublin.

The company produces components for the aviation sector, including parts used in unmanned aircraft.

"The coming weeks and months will be critical not only with regard to the Russian-Ukrainian war as a whole, but will also be a very major challenge for all countries in this part of Europe because of Russian plans to increase tensions and destabilization," he said.

Poland and other European countries have repeatedly accused Russia of organizing sabotage, arson, cyberattacks and other hybrid operations against states supporting Ukraine.

Moscow has denied responsibility for a broader campaign of sabotage in Europe.