Italy’s government has seen nothing to suggest that Russia was behind last week’s explosion at a munitions plant near Rome, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto was quoted as saying on Monday.
– The blast struck a KNDS Ammo Italy factory in Colleferro, southeast of Rome, on Thursday after firefighters had already been called to tackle a fire at the site. No injuries were reported.
– While the government has not commented on reports that the plant produces ammunition for Ukraine, Crosetto sought to dampen speculation that Russian sabotage was behind the explosion.
– “There is no indication to anyone that this could be anything other than an internal problem,” Crosetto told Italian news agency Adnkronos.
– La Repubblica newspaper reported on Monday that prosecutors were examining possible links to similar incidents at ammunition facilities in Bulgaria. Contacted by Reuters, investigators declined to comment.
– Carlo Calenda, leader of the opposition Azione party, called on the government to brief parliament on the case, saying authorities should clarify what happened as soon as possible.
– “We cannot remain in uncertainty over a possible Russian hybrid attack,” Calenda said in a social-media post.
– KNDS, the Franco-German defence group that owns the plant through its KNDS Ammo Italy unit, has said the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.
– According to the company’s website, the Colleferro facility produces medium- and large-calibre ammunition for land and naval defence systems, as well as solid propellants for aerospace launch vehicles.
– The Russian embassy in Italy has not commented on the incident.