Ukrainian thermal imaging company in Czechia set on fire: police suspect terrorist attack

A facility belonging to the Archer LPP in the Czech city of Pardubice, where Ukrainian Archer thermal imaging devices are manufactured, has been set on fire.

Source: Archer founder Oleksandr Yaremenko

Details: Yaremenko said a group of masked individuals deliberately set fire to the facility on the night of 19-20 March.

He added that despite the attack, the company intends to fulfil all contractual obligations and deliver products to its partners on time.

LPP Holding, of which Archer LPP is a part, confirmed that a fire broke out at one of its facilities on the morning of 20 March, with no casualties reported.

The company noted that it is cooperating with Czech law enforcement and assisting the investigation, but is not yet making any assumptions about the cause of the incident.

Meanwhile, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports, citing local media outlets, that a warehouse unit was destroyed and the fire spread to a neighbouring office building.

Czech investigators and emergency workers have already begun examining the scene – a process that may take several days. According to local media outlets, police are considering the possibility of a terrorist attack.

Olha Duplichuk, spokesperson for Archer LPP, stated that the fire destroyed almost all of the production facility, including finished products.

Background:

• In October 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine conducted searches at the offices and residences of employees of Archer, Ukraine's only manufacturer of cooled thermal imaging sights. The company's operations were temporarily suspended.
• Archer head Oleksandr Yaremenko said at the time that the allegations were groundless, adding that investigators had seized equipment and documents during the searches, temporarily paralysing the company's operations.

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