Pro-Palestine activists affiliated with the UK-based group People Against Genocide have claimed responsibility for breaking into and vandalising the offices of a defence technology firm in the Scottish city of Aberdeen, with two suspects subsequently arrested and charged.
The group said its members stormed and vandalised Ultra Intelligence and Communications’ (Ultra I&C) facility in Aberdeen on Sunday.
In a post on Instagram, the group claimed that "Ultra I&C supply military hardware and tech to Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems and to the Israeli military directly," adding that "actions against the firm have continued to intensify" following previous actions targeting military satellites.
Video footage shared by the group on social media from inside the building appeared to show extensive damage, including overturned office furniture, papers and debris scattered across floors, smashed windows and damaged equipment.
Messages written on the building’s interior included "ULTRA KILLS KIDS" on a cabinet and “For the poor children of GAZA” on a wall- while a Palestinian flag was also hung in a doorway.
Police Scotland were called to the Ultra I&C site, as a spokesperson confirmed that two men, aged 39 and 18, had been arrested and charged and were due to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said in a statement, “Around 9:40 a.m., we received a report of vandalism and a break-in at a business premises on Prospect Road, in the Westhill area of Aberdeenshire."
Footage from the incident also captured exchanges between the activists and responding police officers after the protesters barricaded the door.
According to Ultra I&C’s website, the company "delivers crypto solutions, mission software and tactical communications built to keep operations moving".
Footage on its website also appears to show soldiers using Ultra I&C-branded equipment, including drones, while the company’s customers include governments and militaries around the world, including in the US, the UK and Canada.
Ultra I&C’s sites in Hertfordshire and Maidenhead have previously been targeted by People Against Genocide.
Separately, the group said on social media that it had targeted logistics firm DSV in Doncaster on Sunday night.
According to its Instagram account, the group stated, “It is within our power to bring down the Israeli war machine in Britain, and so it must be done,” adding that it had taken action against the logistics firm “dozens of times, as it transports weapons for Israel’s biggest arms maker, Elbit Systems.”
The latest incidents form part of wider pro-Palestine direct-action campaigns targeting Elbit Systems and other companies linked by campaigners to Israel’s defence supply chain.
Campaigners and research groups such as WhoProfits have reported that Elbit Systems supplies around 85% of Israel’s drones and land-based military equipment.
Such campaigns have intensified since the outbreak of the genocidal war on Gaza on 7 October 2023, with activists targeting companies they allege are involved in supplying or supporting Israel’s military operations.