German police have detained four people over the September fire at a Starlink satellite internet ground station in central Poland, an attack Warsaw blames on Russian intelligence services. Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite internet constellation — thousands of low-orbit satellites that deliver broadband where ground networks are absent or destroyed, and which Ukraine’s military has come to depend on at the front.
The count rose over two days. Two Turkish nationals were held on Monday, 12 October, near Stuttgart, and a third in Berlin — the three covered by the German federal police’s account of the case. A fourth detention followed on Tuesday, 13 October, Polish broadcaster RMF FM reported, as relayed by The Moscow Times.
Key facts
- The fire broke out on 23 September at a Starlink facility in Wola Krobowska, about 50 kilometres south of Warsaw, in the Mazovia region, Yahoo reported.
- The blaze affected the facility’s power supply station and its backup generator.
- The two Turkish nationals, aged 34 and 38, were detained in Nürtingen, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, at Poland’s request.
- Polish prosecutors are to assess the Berlin detainee’s involvement and decide whether to seek extradition, RMF FM reported.
- A spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Criminal Police, the BKA, said the agency coordinated the exchange of information between Polish and German authorities over the detention of three individuals.
Why it matters
Investigators concluded that the perpetrators’ goal was to disrupt the operation of the Starlink system, including internet connectivity, in Poland and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Polish Radio reported, via Charter97.
The Polish government has described the targeted site as a facility that also helps ensure secure internet communications in Ukraine, where the network lets forces exchange information, coordinate deployments and support military operations, Yahoo reported. That dependence is heaviest where conventional networks are unavailable or have been destroyed, as set out in our companion explainer on how Ukraine’s forces depend on Starlink.
None of the sources cited here quantify the damage: there is no reported outage duration for the power supply station or the backup generator, no repair cost, and no reported degradation of Starlink availability for users in Poland or Ukraine. No outlet has reported any change to Starlink service terms or price in the region either.
How the arrests unfolded
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X late on Monday that German police had detained two Turkish nationals suspected of setting fire to the Starlink station in Mazovia, at the request of Polish intelligence services. Tusk called the incident “yet another act of hybrid warfare” and said those responsible would face Polish justice, Charter97 reported.
Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Manuel Hagel said on Tuesday that two European arrest warrants had been sent to the BKA for enforcement, Yahoo reported. Hagel said the two men were taken into custody on Monday by special police units and that three apartments were searched, including two in Baden-Württemberg. He declined to comment on possible links to Russia or organised crime, saying the investigation was at a very early stage and key information remained confidential.
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the operation was carried out by the BKA on the basis of evidence prepared by the Polish police in cooperation with the Polish Internal Security Agency, per Charter97. Polish police chief Marek Boron said one suspect lives in Germany, while the other is subject to a deportation order there, Yahoo reported.
The Berlin detainee: two descriptions
- Bild: a third suspect detained in Berlin’s Spandau district, possibly the driver of the other two men.
- RMF FM: a woman who may have acted as a driver; no nationality given.
Each account places a single possible driver in Berlin, so they appear to describe one detention rather than two, but they differ on the person’s sex. Neither report could be read directly for this article — Bild is relayed here via Yahoo and RMF FM via The Moscow Times, and the links above point to those newsrooms rather than the individual stories — and neither version is confirmed on the record: Germany’s Interior Ministry was not immediately available for comment and Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office had no immediate comment.
Who Poland blames
Polish Special Services Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said there was “no doubt” that Russian services were behind the sabotage, adding that they are increasingly turning to individuals linked to the criminal underworld, as quoted by The Moscow Times. Warsaw had already labelled the fire an act of sabotage at the time of the blaze, saying it was aimed at disrupting internet services, including for Ukraine’s military.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called for closer European cooperation against suspected Russian sabotage after the arrests. “We are in Russia’s crosshairs,” he told reporters at a security forum in Warsaw following a meeting with his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski on Tuesday, according to Yahoo. Wadephul said Europe was under attack beyond Ukraine, argued the arrests showed European security and intelligence agencies cooperating effectively, and said Russia would not succeed in dividing European societies.
The case has moved quickly since Poland announced the first two detentions on Monday. The sources cited here give no indication of when any of the detainees might be transferred to Poland.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do investigators say the fire was started?
Sources close to the investigation told German regional paper Schwäbische Zeitung, as reported by Yahoo, that the two suspects were driven to the Starlink facility and poured an accelerant over an electrical control cabinet. The same sources said the pair fled after spending only a few minutes on the premises.
What charges would the suspects face in Poland?
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the suspects would be charged with sabotage and with acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service once they are transferred to Poland, Yahoo reported. Special services coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak gave the same account of the planned charges, per Charter97.
What evidence do Polish investigators say they have gathered?
Polish national police chief Marek Boron said investigators had secured recordings, fingerprints and DNA evidence, Yahoo reported. Boron added that they had reconstructed the preparations for the attack and the suspects’ escape, including their entry into and departure from Poland.
How has Russia responded to the accusations?
Moscow says such accusations are baseless and the result of anti-Russian hysteria, The Moscow Times reported. The outlet noted that officials from several European Union countries have warned for months that Russia has been mounting sabotage, cyber and other hybrid attacks across Europe to erode support for Ukraine.
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