The Polish defense minister dismissed a high-ranking general who is allegedly responsible for losing anti-tank mines eventually found in IKEA warehouse, Polish news outlet Onet reports.
“We would like to inform you that on Jan. 9, 2025, by the decision of the Minister of Defense, the Head of the Support Inspectorate, Maj. Gen. Artur Kępczynski, was dismissed from his post,” the Polish defense ministry shared in a post on X.
Kępczyński’s job as a the head of the support inspectorate was, among other things, to manage the logistics support system.
The official statement does not elaborate on the reasons of the dismissal, but local media linked it to the disappearance of the anti-tank mines in June 2024, which Kępczyński allegedly concealed from his superiors.
According to the reports, soldiers failed to unload part of the train carrying over 1,000 tons of explosives in total, and the anti-tank mines continued to circulate around the country before they went missing. On paper, false information about the number of mines was provided, media reports.
Officials apparently became aware of the problem when the weapons were found sitting in the IKEA warehouse, at which point someone called the military to ask “when they would collect their mines.”
An investigation into the matter was opened last year, which is currently ongoing, the prosecutor’s office said on Friday.
Kępczynski did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
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