A Russia-Linked Recruiter Planned to Set Fire to Flytronic Plant in Poland

In Poland, a Russia-linked recruiter attempted to organize an arson attack on the Flytronic facility in Gliwice, which develops and manufactures unmanned systems.

This was uncovered by journalists from the Vot Tak media during an investigation into a network of saboteur recruiters in Europe.

A reporter contacted a recruiter using the alias Joker, posing as a Belarusian citizen living in Poland.

At first, Joker offered him $1,000 per car to set fire to vehicles with Ukrainian license plates. Later, the recruiter inquired about the possibility of attacking a company that manufactures drones and assists Ukraine. For successfully setting fire to such a facility, he offered between $20,000 and $30,000.

In addition to the money, The recruiter said the perpetrator could receive a state award in Belarus after completing the task, possibly even an order, claiming that he had “good relations with the Batka.” (ed. note: slang term for the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko) There is no independent confirmation of his ties to the Belarusian leadership.

Flytronic became the target

The recruiter himself identified a specific target — the Flytronic facility in the Polish city of Gliwice.

The company is part of the WB Group and is one of Poland’s leading centers for the development of unmanned aerial systems. In September 2025, the company officially announced the launch of production of the FlyEye in Ukraine. According to the manufacturer, the Ukrainian military has been using FlyEye systems since 2015.

As journalists established, preparations for a possible attack began even before the correspondent became involved in the scheme.

After the journalist agreed to carry out the task, Joker sent him several video recordings of the Flytronic premises, taken earlier by an unidentified person.

In the recordings, a person walked around the perimeter of the company’s premises and filmed it on a phone. The recruiter suggested using this footage to plan the attack.

Initially, they even discussed the option of blowing up the facility. However, due to the complexity and time required, they abandoned that plan in favor of arson using bottles filled with an incendiary mixture.

The Russian connection

According to the investigation, Joker’s Telegram account was registered to a Russian phone number from the Saratov region.

During the investigation, journalists also determined that this account systematically sought out potential perpetrators in various European countries. The countries mentioned include Poland, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, France, and Slovakia.

In Poland, investigators are also examining the theory of sabotage ordered by Russian intelligence services following the arson attack on a Starlink ground station that provided satellite communications in Poland and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.