Lithuanian prosecutors have brought terrorism-related charges against two men living in Germany over an attempted arson at a Vilnius site where SpaceX, the US rocket and satellite company, operates and stores Starlink equipment. Officials set out the case to reporters on 29 October, several days after the Lithuanian Prosecutor’s Office formally named the pair as suspects on 27 October, according to Ukrainian defence outlet Militarnyi.
Key facts
- The attempted arson took place on the night of 18 October at premises belonging to Delska, a Lithuanian company, where Starlink hardware is kept.
- Both suspects are men in their 20s who live in Germany. Militarnyi and LRT say one holds German and Turkish citizenship and the other German and Serbian citizenship; Anadolu Agency describes them simply as German citizens.
- They were arrested in Germany on European arrest warrants issued by Bulgaria over a similar attack there.
- Lithuanian police say the Vilnius, Polish and Bulgarian attacks on Starlink infrastructure are directly linked.
- Prosecutors say Russia’s possible role in orchestrating the attacks is still being examined.
Why it matters
Starlink is SpaceX’s low-Earth-orbit broadband network. Anadolu Agency notes that Ukraine has used Starlink and its military-grade Starshield service as part of its defence since 2022, and Fakti.bg reports that Ukraine’s armed forces rely on the system for battlefield communications and drone control.
Militarnyi reports that law enforcement officials have speculated the fires may have been meant to disrupt Starlink communications in Europe, particularly for Ukrainian users, while stressing that the exact motives are still being determined. Fakti.bg says European security services are still working out whether the separate attacks form a coordinated campaign, a question that feeds directly into Europe’s reliance on SpaceX-run services.
What the charges say
Nėrijus Puškorius, chief prosecutor in the Organised Crime and Corruption Investigation Division of the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, said the men 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, LRT reported.
Saulius Briginas, deputy head of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, told reporters the pair arrived in Lithuania the day before the incident and left immediately afterwards. “They have no ties to Lithuania and came here to commit this crime,” he said, as quoted by LRT, adding that the attack was prepared in advance rather than spontaneous.
The Vilnius fire
Militarnyi reports that the targeted facility operates nine Starlink satellite antennas and that a security guard quickly put out the flames, preventing damage that could have disrupted operations. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Ukraine is among the users of that infrastructure, according to the same outlet.
Links to Bulgaria and Poland
Fakti.bg, citing the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office, reports that two 19-year-olds named Tirpan Beitula and Zeka Islam were charged in absentia over a fire at a communications site near the village of Plana, south of Sofia. The Bulgarian outlet dates that attack to 9 October, while Militarnyi reports it happened on the night of 10 October near Sofia.
Fakti.bg says German authorities arrested the two men on 23 October in Duisburg, where one lives, the other being a resident of nearby Moers. On 28 October, German prosecutors confirmed the pair remain in custody while a court in Düsseldorf considers Bulgaria’s surrender request, the outlet reported. Starlink News previously reported that Germany detained two men over the Bulgarian antenna fire.
Militarnyi reports that the Polish arson was carried out by different people who investigators believe belong to the same network. It places that fire on 23 September at a Starlink ground station in the village of Wola Krobowska near Warsaw; LRT describes it only as a September fire at a Starlink satellite communications station in central Poland.
LRT says the two men held in Germany are not believed to have personally started the Polish fire, but investigators suspect they were involved in that crime as well. Militarnyi reports that two Turkish citizens suspected of involvement in the Polish case were detained in Germany on 17 October, and that the arson may have been organised by members of the Turkish criminal group Daltons at the behest of Russian intelligence services. Separately, Turkish authorities detained 85 people in connection with the Polish case.
What happens next
Puškorius said the men had been placed on a wanted list and that a decision on whether they will be transferred to Lithuania would be taken later, LRT reported. Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said he expects the suspects to be handed to Bulgarian authorities, and said they were linked to a similar attack in another EU country without naming it, according to Fakti.bg.
Briginas said more people have been detained in Poland in connection with the incidents, and that Lithuanian authorities are cooperating with law enforcement partners in Bulgaria, Poland and Germany.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sentence do the Lithuanian terrorism charges carry?
According to Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, prosecutor Nėrijus Puškorius said the most severe penalty for forming or participating in a terrorist group is 10 to 15 years in prison. The suspects also face separate suspicions of travelling for terrorist purposes and committing a terrorist act that could have had serious consequences.
How much Starlink equipment was destroyed in Bulgaria?
Bulgarian outlet Fakti.bg, citing the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office, said three antennas at the facility near Plana were completely destroyed, two were partially burned and three more were damaged by the fire. Militarnyi reported that 11 of 17 Starlink antennas at a restricted facility near Sofia were set alight.
How did the suspects get into Bulgaria?
Fakti.bg reported that the two entered Bulgaria through the Kalotina border crossing in a car with German registration and told border officials they were arriving for "tourist purposes". The outlet said they drove to the communications facility near Plana hours later, at around 10:25 p.m., and left Bulgaria via Kalotina for Serbia after the incident.
Has Russia responded to the sabotage allegations?
Fakti.bg reported that Lithuanian authorities have described the Vilnius incident as an alleged Russian-linked sabotage attempt, possibly aimed at weakening Ukraine’s military capabilities, and that Moscow has dismissed the allegations as unfounded. Lithuanian prosecutors say Russia’s possible role is still being examined.
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