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Ingersoll munitions plant is in danger of Russia-linked sabotage, British expert warns

A factory in Ingersoll that produces parts of artillery shells is at risk from Russia-backed sabotage, a defence expert at a British international affairs think tank warns
Patrick Cain
Patrick Cain
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Ukrainian artillery fires on a target in this handout image from February, 2024. GOVERNMENT OF UKRAINE HANDOUT

A factory in Ingersoll that produces parts of artillery shells is at risk from Russia-backed sabotage, a defence expert at a British international affairs think tank warns.

Keir Giles of Chatham House points to a sharp increase recently in fires, explosions and other disruption at facilities important to Western military support for Ukraine. Most have been in Europe, but was a fire at a shell plant in Pennsylvania in mid-April. 

"Any country that is a member of the coalition backing Ukraine, or even has some other argument with Russia about which they may not even necessarily be aware, is a potential target because Russia is now so unrestrained, because there are no downsides for Russia in carrying out these attacks across Europe," he says. "

"They are completely undeterred. They're already functioning as a rogue state, they have no reputation to lose."

Artillery shells are produced in three locations in Canada: IMT Defence in Ingersoll, and two factories in Quebec. The defence department recently announced funding for a project intended to increase 155-millimetre shell production at all three locations, saying that  they were " ... in high demand across NATO and urgently needed in Ukraine."

"There is an urgent need in Canada, and all NATO countries, to increase our production capability," defence minister Bill Blair said at the time. "Not just in artillery shells, but in all military production, because production is deterrent and a stronger defence industrial base is going to make us stronger and less susceptible to coercion."

The war in Ukraine has demanded large numbers of artillery shells on both sides. Russia has resorted to seeking them from North Korea, while Ukraine has been supplied by European countries, South Korea and the United States. Czech diplomats have sourced more than a quarter of a million shells on the international arms market, a project Canada has helped pay for. 

While arms supplies are expected to increase after the resumption of U.S. aid, Ukrainian soldiers have warned that for now they can afford to use one shell for every five fired at them by the Russians. 

Given the importance of artillery to the conflict, is the Ingersoll plant a potential target for Russian or Russian-backed sabotage?

"Absolutely," Giles says. 

"Russia is at war with us in every domain except the open military one, and has been since since far longer than most people in the West have realized. There's no doubt that Russia is now capitalizing on the programs of investigation and reconnaissance of vulnerabilities that they've undertaken intensively since 2014."

Incidents at defence-related targets, mostly in northern Europe, have increased sharply in recent months, as have arrests:

Some of these attacks seem to have been planned or carried out by local criminals rather than directly by Russia. Two British men for example, were charged with national security offences in April after a fire at a warehouse linked to aid to Ukraine. 

"They achieve better access if they are using local people," Giles says. "And of course, they are even more disposable than Russia's own personnel. Russia simply will not care if it if it hires somebody locally, and they're picked up by law enforcement — they can very simply wash their hands of them."

Ryan Hall, director of the Oxford County Paramedic Services, said the County has not received any information related to a potential threat to the IMT plant nor had they heard anything stated from Chatham House.

“The Oxford County emergency plan is designed to provide overall guidance in case of any emergency, and while it includes some hazard-specific plans such as those for severe weather, we do not have a specific plan for terrorist-level events,” he said. “However, our plan is adaptable and can be applied to a variety of emergency situations.”

Hall said the risk of any kind of attack on the IMT facility to the surrounding industrial area would depend on the specifics of the hypothetical attack and, as such, wasn’t something he could comment on without further information. He did add that when determining an emergency plan for potential threats, several factors are considered.

“You have to look at the nature of the threat, potential impact on the community, available resources, and coordination with key stakeholders,” he said. “In the case of the IMT Defence facility, the factory and their regulatory body would be the primary stakeholders responsible for determining their specific emergency plans.”

IMT did not respond to an interview request. 

"The security intelligence chiefs of various European countries have indicated that they are not only looking at those attacks that have already been detected, but also the substantial planning of a broader network of attacks," Giles says.

"There's going to be plenty more of this. The defining factor is really how Western countries respond to it, and also how Western populations respond to it because Russia is already set on the track where greater confrontation with the West is something it is accepting as normal and natural."

- with reporting from Matt Harris/Stratford Today