Explosion rocks arms plant in Poland which supplies Ukraine, PM claims no evidence 'external forces' responsible

RT
Mon, 10 Jun 2024 19:00 UTC

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Jacek Siewiera: The blast and resulting fire reportedly killed one worker and injured two others at the Mesko factory's rocket fuel center

One person has died and two others have been injured after an explosion and fire at an arms factory in Poland which produces ammunition for Ukraine, the outlet RMF24 reported on Monday.

The blast at the Mesko plant in the southeastern Polish city of Skarzysko Kamienna occurred at its rocket fuel center, the broadcaster said on its website, citing a company official.

According to the report, a 59-year-old worker was killed when an explosion occurred in a warehouse at the center. Two other employees survived, one of whom was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries after inhaling smoke, local authorities said.

"We have an explosion at the rocket fuel center, which was put into operation a few years ago," the plant's president, Elzbieta Sreniawska, told RMF24.

The fire was put out and the cause of the incident is currently being investigated, the company added.

Comment: Images:

Mesko, owned by state-run Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa SA, manufactures various defense products, including Grom and Piorun man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), Spike-LR anti-tank missiles, and small arms ammunition.

The 100-year-old defense contractor produces munitions for the Polish Armed Forces and NATO. In 2022, Mesko signed a contract for the supply of ammunition of various calibers to Ukraine.

Poland has been one of Ukraine's key backers in the conflict with Moscow, which started in February 2022. Warsaw has provided extensive military aid to Ukraine, leading to local arms factories significantly increasing production. The country has also served as a key hub for weapons provided by other Western countries being sent to Ukraine.

Comment: Nexta reports below that Poland's PM claims there's no evidence "external forces" were responsible for the blast.

This is a rather curious statement at such an early stage of the investigations. More so considering that this is at least the 3rd Western weapons factory to suffer an explosion in just the last few months. And Europe's leaders have been claiming there's an increased likelihood of sabotage. However, strangely, even after the explosions at the US and UK arms plants, they focus on threats to shopping locations, like Ikea, or other incidents like anti-semitic graffiti.

One would think the West would be eager to blame Russia - regardless of who's actually responsible - so what's stopping them?

• Mystery fires and explosions across Europe may be 'Russian sabotage', Western leaders claim, despite having no evidence
• UK Deputy PM urges people to stockpile 3 days' worth of food amid 'fears of prolonged power cuts, cyber attacks and floods'
• Explosion rocks UK's only munitions filling factory, day after US shell plant bursts into flames

Poland's prime minister says no "external forces" were involved in the explosion at the Mesko arms factory

So far there are no grounds to assume that behind the explosion at the Mesko factory in the town of Skarzysko-Kamienna "was some external force."

This was stated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. According to him, he received information about the incident from Polish Interior Minister and the city administration. The relevant services are on the spot and "will check every detail," Tusk said.