A pre-dawn blaze at a Polish defence manufacturer has been labelled “deliberate arson” by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, as authorities investigate a string of fires that has raised fresh concerns about sabotage.
The fire broke out at a WB Group production plant in the south-central city of Skarżysko-Kamienna in the early hours of Monday morning. Local fire crews brought the flames under control after two hours, according to reports.
WB Group makes components for drone systems, and its website says the group began producing reconnaissance drones in Ukraine last year.
Polish police and the country’s Internal Security Agency are investigating the incident.
The Skarżysko-Kamienna fire followed another major blaze last Sunday that damaged the warehouse of JFG Composites in the eastern city of Lublin. The company produces components for the aviation industry.
“As far as the fires in two plants in Lublin and in Skarżysko-Kamienna are concerned, in the case of Skarżysko-Kamienna there is no doubt that there was deliberate arson, that is, an act of sabotage,” Mr Tusk told the media before a cabinet meeting in Warsaw this afternoon.
He said investigators had not found the same kind of evidence pointing to arson in Lublin, but added “it cannot be ruled out taking into account the nature of the production”.
Both factories were closed when the incidents occurred, and Polish authorities said no one was injured.
Mr Tusk’s remarks come a day after the German government accused Russia of being behind an incident in August involving an explosive-laden drone at an airport in Leipzig.
In response, the European Union and Ireland today summoned Russian ambassadors in Brussels and Dublin respectively to express concerns about the Leipzig incident.
“There have been very disturbing incidents in the last few dozen hours in Poland, as well as in Germany,” said Mr Tusk.
“This is a continuation of Russia’s escalation efforts throughout the region. Unfortunately, these are not the first cases and certainly, what is worse, not the last,” he said.
Poland has accused Russian intelligence networks of orchestrating sabotage attacks on Polish soil since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, including a fire at a shopping centre outside Warsaw in 2024 and an explosion which damaged a railway line in central-east Poland last November.
Russia has denied any involvement in previous alleged sabotage incidents in Poland.
