Arson plot targeted Ukraine-founded drone maker, Slovak prosecutor says

By Jan Lopatka

Aug 27 (Reuters) - An ‌arson attack ​planned by ​three suspects in eastern Slovakia targeted drone maker Skyeton, prosecutors said on Thursday, while a little-known group describing itself as peace activists ‌claimed responsibility.

Skyeton, founded in Ukraine, says it produces drones for civilian ⁠and military use in Ukraine and other countries.

"The attack was supposed to aim at the Skyeton ‌company's factory," a spokesperson for ‌the regional prosecutor's office in the eastern city of Presov said in an email, confirming an earlier report by Slovak news website dennikn.sk.

A German prosecutor ​told Reuters that a 26-year-old Latvian had been detained in Hamburg and extradition proceedings were under way.

Slovak prosecutors said on Wednesday that two other suspects, ⁠a Latvian and a Ukrainian, had been detained in Slovakia after police said they had thwarted an ​arson attack. There was no damage to property nor any injuries.

Local media reported that a court ordered on Thursday that they ​remain in custody pending an investigation.

Slovak police said ‌the suspects acted on commission but did not identify any party suspected of ordering the attack.

A group calling itself "Global Citizens ⁠Against War 1984" claimed responsibility in a statement sent to Reuters and demanded the release of two of the suspects.

The Slovak Interior Ministry, through a police spokesperson, declined to comment ⁠on the claim.

Skyeton suggested Russia was behind the attack.

"The Russians regularly attempt to attack both ​our production facilities in Ukraine and our reputation," it said in an emailed statement. "The recent attempted attack on our facility in Slovakia is further proof that Ukrainian defence manufacturers have ‌become a real thorn in their side."

The Russian embassy in Bratislava said in an email that the allegation was another ‌in a series of accusations against Russia made without evidence.

Skyeton said its Slovak facility produced ⁠for Western markets, while its ‌factory in Ukraine supplied the ​Ukrainian army, dennikn.sk reported.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague. Additional reporting by Friederike Heine in Berlin. Editing by Kirsten Donovan and ‌Mark Potter)

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