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Fire at Czech Drone Factory Supplying Ukraine Looks Increasingly Less Accidental, Investigators Say
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Suspicion is mounting that a suspected arson attack on a defense plant in Pardubice may have targeted a Czech company supplying drones to Ukraine, according to Novinky on March 21.
Czech officials have not identified who was behind the fire, but Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and police confirmed that investigators are working with four versions of the case, all of which include deliberate intent.
The plant belongs to LPP, which produces drones and has publicly highlighted deliveries of AI-enabled systems to Ukraine.
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The company has drawn attention in recent months because it manufactures drones linked to the Czech initiative "Gift for Putin," which is currently raising funds for the MTS 40 strike drone.
The group noted after the fire that the blaze would not disrupt the planned shipment, while LPP co-owner Radim Petráš previously stated the company had already delivered hundreds of AI-guided drones to Ukraine and that Ukrainian troops had responded positively to them.
“In connection with the terrorist attack in Pardubice, we want to publicly repeat the information we confirmed again with LPP’s owners last night. The fire will not affect the planned delivery of MTS 40 strike drones to Ukraine,” Gift for Putin wrote.
Babiš also pointed to the need for tighter security at the site, noting, “We know very well what happened, we remember Vrbětice.”
The case has been further complicated by an email from a previously unknown group calling itself “The Earthquake Faction”, which claimed responsibility and framed the attack as retaliation against alleged drone production for Israel.
LPP spokeswoman Martina Tauberová rejected that account, stating no Israeli drones were ever produced at the plant and that an earlier planned cooperation with Elbit Systems never moved forward after the Czech Defense Ministry canceled the relevant tender.
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Novinky also noted that LPP’s drone work had already attracted Russian media attention, with Komsomolskaya Pravda publishing a report last year on the firm’s AI navigation technology.
LPP stated it is cooperating with police and will wait for the official conclusions of the investigation before commenting further.
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The suspected attack has also generated competing accounts about its purpose and intended target.
A fire at a defense plant in the Czech city of Pardubice is under investigation as possible sabotage after a group calling itself the “Earthquake Fraction” claimed responsibility and framed the attack as anti-Israeli action.
Firefighters reported the blaze started in a storage hall and spread to another building, while Czech authorities confirmed no injuries and are now assessing the damage and potential perpetrators.
The company named in the claim rejected any link to Israeli drone production, noting that a 2023 plan to cooperate with Elbit Systems was announced but never moved beyond the proposal stage.
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