Two masked men set fire to 11 of the 17 antennas used to connect to SpaceX’s Starlink satellites at a communications facility near Sofia, Bulgarian opposition MP Ivaylo Mirchev said in a Facebook post on October 13 that was picked up by Bulgarian National Television. Mirchev is a pro-European MP from the Yes, Bulgaria party, and he is also accusing the government of withholding information about the incident. He did not say where his own account came from, ANSA-AFP reported, so the details below rest on a single source. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told parliament on Wednesday, October 14, that an investigation into the reported arson is under way, without confirming or denying the account.
Key facts
- Eleven of 17 antennas at the site were burned, according to Mirchev, who said the targets were the antennas providing the backbone link to satellites actively used in the war in Ukraine.
- The MP said the fire happened over the weekend at what he called a secret facility near Sofia, ANSA-AFP reported. Investigative outlet The Insider placed it 20 kilometres (about 12 miles) from the capital using satellite images, according to Meduza.
- Mirchev first posted the claim, including video of the fire, on October 13 and then raised it in parliament, demanding that Bulgaria’s intelligence services and Interior Ministry say whether they had known about it.
- Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said security had been tightened around similar communications facilities across Bulgaria, UNITED24 Media reported.
What is still unknown
The three reports do not say who owns or operates the Bulgarian facility, how extensive the damage is beyond the antenna count, or what the repair timeline is. None of them carries a comment from SpaceX, and no response from the company appears anywhere in the coverage reviewed. The ANSA-AFP dispatch from Sofia reported the episode as a claim under investigation rather than an established fact, and no Bulgarian official quoted in the coverage has blamed any country or group.
Why it matters
Starlink is the low-Earth-orbit satellite internet network run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and it reaches users through ground stations that pass traffic between the terrestrial internet and the satellites overhead. UNITED24 Media said the suspected arson near Sofia has raised concerns over the security of critical satellite internet infrastructure in the region. Ukraine uses Starlink for battlefield communications, ANSA-AFP noted.
Related and unconnected: Ukraine’s armed forces said the same day that SpaceX had restricted Starlink service for the military, covered in the reported speed cap on Ukrainian drone units.
What Bulgaria has said
Radev gave no details. “The investigation is extremely intensive. We are working with partner services to successfully carry out this operation,” he said in parliament, as reported by ANSA-AFP.
In remarks carried by Bulgarian radio BNR on October 14 and reported by UNITED24 Media, Radev went further, saying he had urged the head of the State Agency for National Security not to disclose what investigators had established, because doing so would undermine the result being sought. He said the situation regarding the investigation was under control and that a conclusion was a matter of a very short time.
Mirchev’s complaint was partly about that silence rather than the fire itself: UNITED24 Media reported that he accused the government of keeping the public in the dark.
The Polish fire in September
Mirchev linked the Bulgarian incident to a fire at a Starlink ground station in Poland at the end of September that authorities there are treating as possible sabotage. According to Polish broadcaster RMF, cited by UNITED24 Media, that fire broke out late on September 23 at a facility in Wola Krobowska, and emergency services were called after the property owner found burning antennas and damage to a power generator.
UNITED24 Media described that station as providing satellite internet connectivity to parts of Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. Meduza relayed Mirchev’s own characterisation that Polish authorities have no doubt Russia is behind the acts of sabotage — his wording, reported second-hand, not a statement from the Polish government, and none of the three reports quotes a Polish or Bulgarian official saying that in connection with the Sofia-area fire. Our earlier coverage tracked two suspects detained in Germany over the Polish case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do outlets spell the lawmaker’s surname differently?
Transliteration from Bulgarian Cyrillic varies by outlet. Meduza and UNITED24 Media write Mirchev, while the ANSA-AFP dispatch writes Mirtchev. They refer to the same MP.
Has anyone been arrested in Bulgaria over the fire?
None of the three reports names a suspect or reports an arrest in Bulgaria.
Did the fire cut Starlink service to Ukraine’s military?
Meduza reported there was no word on whether the damaged antennas carried communications for Ukraine’s armed forces, and none of the three reports describes a confirmed loss of service.
What is Starshield, and is it connected to the Bulgarian fire?
Starshield is what UNITED24 Media describes as SpaceX’s military-focused satellite communications service, used by Ukrainian drone operators. Ukrainian defence technology adviser Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov said SpaceX capped terminals operating in motion at 100 miles per hour, about 161 km/h. No source links that restriction to the Sofia-area fire.
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