European security services are piecing together a broad pattern of sabotage, arson, and operations mainly targeting the defence industry and infrastructure linked to support for Ukraine. Slovakia has now become part of this security puzzle after police foiled a planned attack on a drone manufacturing facility near Prešov.
Several European authorities connect such operations to Russian intelligence services. In the Slovak case, however, police have not publicly named a specific party that ordered the attack.
Large Fire Planned Near Prešov
In August, Slovak security forces disrupted a planned arson attack at the Skyeton company’s facility in Haniska near Prešov.
Police reported that the suspects were acting on commission. During the operation, authorities seized incendiary materials, equipment, mobile phones, a camera, and a hand-drawn plan.
Investigators say that at the time of the potential attack, around 70 people could have been present in the hall, and damages might have amounted to millions of euros.
Aktualizovane.sk covered the incident in detail in the article, “Police Foil Attack on Drone Factory. Two Suspects Remanded.”
The accused are foreign nationals, and criminal proceedings are ongoing. The presumption of innocence applies.
Europe Talks of ‘Disposable Agents’
International investigations highlight a new method of operating sabotage networks.
Instead of recruiting experienced intelligence operatives, individuals with no background—often recruited via social media, job portals, or messaging apps—are being tasked with specific missions.
Security experts call these individuals “disposable agents,” as they are used just once for such activities.
Missions can vary from surveillance and photography to arson or damaging key strategic infrastructure.
Authorities in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Lithuania have linked some of these networks to Russia’s GRU military intelligence, according to a collaborative European investigation.
Slovakia Has Not Identified Who Ordered the Attack
It is important to distinguish between confirmed facts and mere suspicion here.
In the Prešov factory case, Slovak police announced the attack was being organized on someone’s order, but have not publicly identified who was behind the commission.
The company Skyeton itself has suggested a possible Russian connection. However, this is the company’s perspective and not an officially proven conclusion of the investigation.
Aktualizovane.sk has previously highlighted the broader context in the article, “Europe Faces Wave of Sabotage. Security Services Warn of Escalation Risk.”
Targeting Defence and Ukraine-Linked Firms
Similar incidents were also investigated in 2026 in Germany, Estonia, Poland, and other European countries.
The common thread across many cases is that the targets include the defence industry, drone manufacturing, logistics, or infrastructure used to support Ukraine.
As a result, security services increasingly describe these as hybrid operations—remaining below the threshold of open military attack but still causing damage, fear, and political tension.
Germany has also investigated a separate case, where security authorities examined suspicions of a Russian sabotage plan targeting a company supporting Ukraine.
Security Services Adapt to Protect Europe
This series of incidents is prompting European countries to bolster the protection of arms factories, energy facilities, airports, and other strategic sites.
The use of one-time recruited individuals makes it difficult to immediately spot direct links between the perpetrator and the true organizer of an attack.
Investigators now more frequently track financial flows, communications via encrypted apps, suspects moving between countries, and contacts with intermediaries.
The attack foiled near Prešov places Slovakia directly into a security discussion confronting much of Europe today.
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This article was translated from the original Slovak version with the assistance of AI.
