Two arrested for suspected fire at Starlink station in Poland

A Germany arrested two Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station in Poland, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced today, describing the fire at the end of September as an act of “hybrid war.”.

“ On behalf of the Polish services, the German police arrested two Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station in Masovia (central-east),” Tusk wrote on the X network, adding that “this is a new hybrid war act”.

The two suspects “will answer before the Polish courts”, he added.

The station, which is owned by the state telecommunications company Exatel, is used to route internet traffic throughout Poland, including to Ukraine, according to the Minister for Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski.

It is also used by SpaceX systems that provide connectivity via Starlink terminals.

The attack took place at night on September 24, and the station remained operational even after the fire.

The next day, Gawkowski told TVP Info that “this act of sabotage was deliberately aimed at putting the station out of service (...) thus interrupting Internet access to various institutions, including the Ukrainian army”.

Poland, a member of NATO and the European Union on the eastern flank of the two blocs, has accused Russia of “sabotage” on several occasions since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Moscow in 2022.

Poland became the leading Western military and humanitarian aid centre for Kyiv.

Last month, Tusk warned that Russia’s plans for the war against Ukraine included “hybrid” drone and missile attacks against Kyiv’s allies.