Two 19-year-olds suspected of setting fire to Starlink satellite antennas at a ground facility in Plana, south of Sofia, are in custody in Germany and could be handed over to Bulgaria. The Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the arrests to German outlet NIUS, saying both men were detained on October 23 under European arrest warrants, according to militarnyi.
Key facts
- One suspect lives in Duisburg, the other in nearby Moers, militarnyi reported, citing the Düsseldorf prosecutors.
- The Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf is weighing whether to extradite the pair to Bulgaria.
- Bulgarian investigators say the men entered from Serbia on October 9 through the Kalotina border crossing and set the antennas alight at about 10:25 p.m. the same evening.
- The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office has received official confirmation of the arrests; both men were charged in absentia with arson committed jointly.
- Lithuanian police say the same two men are suspects in an attempted arson at a Starlink site near Vilnius, and are linked to an attack in Poland.
Why it matters
Starlink, the SpaceX satellite internet service, is described by Bluewin as a strategically important component of Ukraine’s defence in the war against Russia, and its ground facilities have repeatedly been targeted by saboteurs in recent weeks. Plamen Tonchev, head of Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security (DANS), told lawmakers he believes the Plana fire was sabotage and warned further attacks cannot be ruled out, German news agency dpa reported.
The measurable stakes at one site are narrow but real. Plana Teleport holds 17 antennas, according to opposition lawmaker Ivaylo Mirchev, and Bulgarian prosecutors say eight of them were set on fire. The Polish ground station burned in September is run by state operator Exatel and helps provide internet access across Central and Eastern Europe including Ukraine, the Kyiv Post reported. Neither Bulgarian nor Lithuanian authorities have published an estimate of how much service either fire actually interrupted. This site has reported separately on Europe’s dependence on the network for civilian and military connectivity.
What Bulgarian prosecutors allege
The pair told border officers they were tourists when they crossed at 5:37 p.m. on October 9 in a German-registered car, the Kyiv Post reported, citing Bulgarian state news agency BTA. Wearing gloves and masks, they allegedly set fire to antennas at the Plana Teleport facility — a ground-based satellite communications station — before crossing back into Serbia through the same checkpoint at about 11:55 p.m.
Militarnyi reported the car carried German licence plates and was not registered to either man. Under German privacy rules, the suspects have been identified in German media only by their initials, S.I. and T.B., according to the Kyiv Post.
Court-appointed lawyers in Sofia argued that investigators had identified the car but not the men inside it. “It may ultimately turn out that these are not the people who committed the criminal act,” said Zhanet Manasieva, one of the defence lawyers, per the Kyiv Post. The Sofia City Court rejected the objection, finding reasonable grounds for suspicion; both lawyers said they would appeal.
Accounts of the damage differ
Of the eight antennas prosecutors say were set alight, three were completely destroyed, two partially damaged and three others affected, BTA reported. Militarnyi likewise reported three destroyed and several damaged. Mirchev, of Democratic Bulgaria, revealed the attack on Facebook on October 12 and published a video of the fire. He put the damage higher, at 11 antennas.
Mirchev has also pressed the government over its handling of the case, writing on Facebook: “Need we remind everyone that for three days the Interior Ministry and the security services kept silent and concealed the incident.” Rumen Radev — Bulgaria’s president, not its prime minister as the Kyiv Post described him — said on October 14 that Bulgaria was working with partner services, and asked security chiefs not to disclose details.
Conflicting accounts of who the suspects are
Militarnyi, citing the Düsseldorf prosecutors, gives both men’s age as 19. Bulgaria’s warrants name two German nationals aged 19, the Kyiv Post reported. Lithuanian officials describe them as foreign nationals in their 20s, both about 20, holding dual citizenship — one German and Turkish, the other German and Serbian — according to Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT). Police say the suspects had been living in Germany.
On the arrests themselves, this site treats the Düsseldorf prosecutors as the most authoritative source: they executed the detentions, dated them October 23, gave the ages as 19 and placed the men in Duisburg and Moers. Bulgarian prosecutors are the primary source for events at Plana. The Lithuanian “about 20” figure and the dual-citizenship detail remain unreconciled with the German and Bulgarian accounts.
Linked cases in Lithuania and Poland
Saulius Briginas, deputy head of Lithuania’s Criminal Police Bureau, said the two men are suspects in the attempted arson at a Starlink storage site in Vilnius earlier this month, arriving the evening before and leaving immediately afterwards. “They have no ties to Lithuania and came here to commit this crime,” he told reporters, adding that the attackers knew where they were going and had prepared in advance.
Briginas also linked the pair to October arson attacks on Starlink facilities in Poland and Bulgaria, LRT reported. Investigators do not believe the two personally set the Polish equipment alight. That fire, on September 23, damaged antennas and a generator at the Exatel-run station in Wola Krobowska, south of Warsaw. Warsaw suspects Russian intelligence agencies were behind it, Bluewin reported. More arrests have followed in the Poland ground station arson case.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said on October 18 that the overnight attempt on the company storing Starlink equipment failed because security services had warned the firm in advance. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on October 17 that Russia may escalate hybrid attacks, sabotage and border provocations against Poland and the Baltic states before Christmas, particularly around borders and railway lines carrying supplies to Ukraine.
What happens next
The extradition question now rests with the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf. Lithuania has its own claim: Puškorius said the men are currently held on Bulgaria’s warrants, and that a decision on a transfer to Lithuania would come later. Lithuanian authorities are cooperating with counterparts in Bulgaria, Poland and Germany.
Frequently Asked Questions
What prison sentences do the suspects face?
In Bulgaria, both men were charged in absentia with arson committed jointly and face three to 12 years if convicted, according to militarnyi and the Kyiv Post. Lithuania’s separate case carries a heavier maximum: prosecutor Nėrijus Puškorius told reporters that forming or participating in a terrorist group draws 10 to 15 years, the Lithuanian National Radio and Television reported.
What exactly is Lithuania accusing the two men of?
Puškorius, of the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, said the pair are suspected of forming an organised terrorist group, participating in a terrorist group, travelling for terrorist purposes and committing a terrorist act that could have had serious consequences, according to LRT. Lithuanian police deputy chief Saulius Briginas said they are suspected of organising and running a terrorist organisation blamed for similar crimes in Bulgaria and Poland.
What Starlink equipment was at the Vilnius site that was targeted?
LRT reported the attempted arson took place at premises belonging to the Lithuanian company Delska, where the US company SpaceX operates and stores Starlink equipment. Bluewin reported the attackers used flammable liquids and Molotov cocktails but no major fire broke out.
Were other people arrested in these cases?
Briginas said more people have been detained in Poland in connection with the incidents, LRT reported. Earlier reports cited by militarnyi said two German citizens aged 20 and 21 were arrested in Bulgaria on October 12. The Kyiv Post, citing dpa, reported that the suspects were arrested in Nürtingen near Stuttgart on October 13. Neither date matches October 23, the arrest date later confirmed by Düsseldorf prosecutors.
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