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Slovakia foils arson plot on Ukrainian drone factory; Fico pulls plug on transaction tax

Slovak police foiled an alleged arson attack on a Ukrainian drone factory located near Presov, in what appears to be one of the first serious sabotage plots targeting Slovakia’s growing defence industry. The target was Skyeton, which produces sophisticated surveillance and reconnaissance drones at its plant in eastern Slovakia; Skyeton’s Slovak plant does not export its drones eastwards. Police, acting on information from the civilian SIS and Military Intelligence, arrested three men – reportedly two Latvians and a Ukrainian – who they say were preparing the attack “on commission”. One was detained in Germany. The suspects had allegedly gathered petrol mixed with polystyrene, commonly known as napalm, as well as tools, phones, an action camera and a hand-drawn plan. Some 70 employees could have been inside the plant, where equipment is worth tens of millions of euros. Who commissioned the attack remains the big unanswered question. An anti-war group whose name references George Orwell’s novel 1984 purportedly claimed responsibility for the planned attack in a letter sent to Dennik N. Skyeton itself pointed towards Russia, saying Moscow had repeatedly tried to destroy its facilities in Ukraine and damage its reputation. The company said the Slovak plot showed Ukrainian defence manufacturers had become “a real thorn in their side”. The Russian connection has not been established by investigators, however. Slovak police have so far made no public attribution. The case is sensitive given mounting concerns over suspected Russian sabotage operations elsewhere in Europe. A Slovak pro-Russian influencer had filmed himself outside the Skyeton plant weeks earlier and called it a “legitimate target of the Russian army”. There is no evidence his video was connected to the alleged plot. Deputy Speaker Tibor Gaspar of the ruling Smer party echoed the influencer’s view in a recent interview.