Czech Defence Ministry Rules out Foreign Sabotage in Deadly Firing Range Explosion

The Czech Ministry of Defence has ruled out that the explosion at a training ground near Libava, which killed one person and injured eight others, was the result of foreign sabotage. This was stated by the Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic, Jana Černohova.

According to the Czech official, preliminary findings suggest that the explosion was caused by subversive activities by a foreign state. Jana Černohová made it clear that she refutes any disinformation circulating on social media about foreign influence on the event. At the same time, she informed about the number of victims of the explosion.

"One professional soldier was killed in the explosion at the Libava military training ground. Seven other soldiers and one civil servant were taken to the military and university hospital in Olomouc," the Czech official said in a statement.

Czech officials did not say what exactly exploded at the range.

"We are trying to provide assistance as soon as possible, a medical helicopter has arrived at the site. The military police are dealing with the incident," the Czech armed forces said.

The Czech military added that the relatives of the injured and the deceased were informed about the incident. They promise to inform about further developments later.

According to Ádám Fischer, a spokesman for the Olomouc hospital where the injured were taken, two soldiers with moderate injuries were flown by helicopter to the university hospital.

"Six were transported to the military hospital in Olomouc by ambulance, and one was treated on the spot," Fritcher added.

The Czech army has been training Ukrainian soldiers in Libava since the end of 2022. Czech military police spokeswoman Katerina Mlynkova said that the wounded "were not foreigners," meaning that there is no question that Ukrainian soldiers were injured.