A recruiter linked to Russia offered up to $30,000 to set fire to a Polish factory producing drones for Ukraine's military, according to an investigation by Vot Tak, TVP World’s sister channel. The plot targeted a Flytronic facility in Gliwice, southern Poland, belonging to WB Group, the country's largest privately owned defense manufacturer. A Vot Tak journalist uncovered the plan after responding to a job advertisement on Telegram and posing as a Belarusian looking for work. The recruiter, who used the pseudonym Joker, initially offered the journalist $1,000 for each car with Ukrainian license plates he set on fire. When the journalist declined, Joker proposed a much larger operation targeting a factory producing drones for Ukraine. “Do you happen to know where they manufacture drones in Warsaw? The ones that help Ukrainians,” the recruiter wrote. He subsequently identified the Flytronic factory in Gliwice as the target, offering between $20,000 and $30,000 to locate and set fire to a drone factory. “We'll give you a decoration in Belarus. Depending on how you carry out the assignment, perhaps even an order. We have good relations with Batka,” Joker wrote, referring to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko by his nickname. Factory already under surveillance According to Vot Tak, reconnaissance had already been conducted around the factory, and the recruiter sent the undercover journalist videos filmed by an unidentified person walking along its perimeter. The recruiter initially floated the idea of blowing up the facility before settling on an arson attack using incendiary devices. Joker instructed the journalist to show a piece of paper bearing the word “Vendetta” and the date before carrying out the assignment and to record everything in a single take. Flytronic produces the FlyEye reconnaissance drone, used by Ukrainian forces to direct artillery and other strikes. Its parent company, WB Group, also produces Warmate attack drones, which are designed to crash into targets and explode. Vot Tak traced Joker's Telegram account to a Russian telephone number registered in the Saratov region. Its investigation also found that advertisements linked to the recruiter had appeared in at least 122 Telegram chats across Europe over the preceding month. Growing sabotage threat Poland, a key ally of Kyiv, has remained on high alert over Russian sabotage since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022. Concerns intensified in late August after fires broke out at two Polish defense-related factories, including a WB Group facility in the south-central town of Skarżysko-Kamienna. Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the fire at the WB Group facility as “an act of sabotage.” Prosecutors opened an investigation into whether the blaze was deliberately started on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency. The threat extends beyond Poland. The Financial Times reported, citing officials from five European intelligence agencies, that Russia was stepping up efforts to assassinate executives at European defense companies supplying weapons to Ukraine. According to the report, the potential targets included executives at smaller companies producing drones and drone components.
