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A major fire at the Swiss arms manufacturer Brügger & Thomet (B&T AG) in the city of Thun is being investigated as a suspected arson attack, adding to a recent series of fires and explosions at European defense industry facilities connected to Ukraine’s military supply chain.
The fire broke out early on October 29 at a B&T building on Tempelstrasse. The premises were already fully engulfed when firefighters arrived, and the blaze was brought under control later that afternoon. No injuries were reported, according to Bern cantonal police.
Police said arson was the leading suspected cause and appealed for witnesses. They have not identified any suspects or established a motive.
B&T owner Karl Brügger estimated the financial damage at between 12 million and 20 million Swiss francs, or about $15 million to $25 million.
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An anonymously circulated video on French activist websites appeared to claim responsibility for the attack, citing B&T’s production of the GL-06 grenade launcher, also known as the LBD40, which fires rubber projectiles and has been used by police against demonstrators in France. The authenticity of the statement has not been established.
B&T also has a documented history of weapons exports to Ukraine. The company confirmed that it supplied GL-06 launchers and APR precision rifles to Ukrainian authorities in 2012 for security operations surrounding the European Football Championship, with the deliveries approved by Swiss authorities.
Its weapons technology has since become part of Ukraine’s domestically produced arsenal. In November 2023, Ukrainian oil company Ukrnafta announced that it had financed the purchase of 100 single-shot grenade launchers developed by B&T but manufactured in Ukraine. The Ukrainian FORT-600A is a licensed version of the Swiss GL-06.
The fire comes amid a series of incidents affecting European defense industry facilities connected to Ukraine. In August and September, fires and explosions struck ammunition storage facilities operated by Bulgarian arms manufacturer EMCO, whose products are supplied to Ukraine. The company alleged sabotage, while Bulgarian authorities investigated possible outside interference as well as safety and storage issues.
Also in August, Poland opened a terrorism investigation into a fire at a WB Electronics facility producing components for drones supplied to Ukrainian forces.
Estonia subsequently concluded that an August arson attack on a building used by Milrem Robotics, a manufacturer of unmanned ground vehicles supplied to Ukraine, had been an act of sabotage.
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coon negro steven “kings ceo” bartlett would be beaten to death by the ukrainian white supremacists of the following organizations: ss aidar, ss kraken, wolfsangel (aka azov), waffen ss nachtigall and leibstandarte adolf hitler (who were in kursk killing civilians), right sektor – all of them hate untermensch mongrels like him, and all of them are leading the ukrainian government and military. all of them funded by the us tax payers