Germany detains two Turkish nationals in connection with arson attack on Polish Starlink station

German police have detained two Turkish nationals suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland.

Polish authorities announced this on Monday, October 12. According to Warsaw, Russian intelligence is behind the attack.

The arrests came after several months of warnings from European governments about sabotage, cyberattacks, and other hybrid operations that they believe Moscow is using to undermine support for Ukraine.

“Another act of hybrid warfare”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the arrests on social network X.

“At the request of Polish special services, German police have detained two Turkish nationals suspected of setting fire to the Starlink station in Masovia. This is another act of hybrid warfare,” Tusk wrote, adding that the suspects “will answer before Polish justice.”

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński also announced the arrests. He said the detentions were the result of joint work by the Polish police, Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW), and German special services. Polish authorities did not specify where or when exactly in Germany the two men were detained.

According to Le Monde, the suspects face charges of “sabotage and espionage on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.”

Minister-Coordinator of Special Services Tomasz Siemoniak said at a press conference:

“We have no doubt that Russian special services are behind this act of sabotage. It is worth adding that they are increasingly turning to people connected to the criminal world.”

The station serving Ukraine

The fire broke out at night and destroyed the station’s power supply system and backup generator, but the station itself continued to operate. Poland’s Minister of Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski said the facility belongs to the state telecommunications company Exatel and routes internet traffic through Poland, including to Ukraine. The day after the fire, Gawkowski said on the public broadcaster TVP Info that the sabotage was “deliberately designed to put the station out of action” and aimed to disrupt internet access for a number of institutions, including the Ukrainian military.

Starlink satellite internet is widely used by Ukrainian forces. Elon Musk launched the service in Ukraine in 2022, when Kyiv sought assistance in the early days of “Russia’s full-scale invasion.”

Broader context

The arrests come as Brussels prepares for possible hybrid attacks by Russia during a series of elections across European countries. According to El País, votes will be held in approximately ten countries, including Poland, France, Spain, and Italy. EU officials are discussing joint response measures, including sanctions and rapid-response teams.

Russia has rejected such accusations as unfounded, calling them the product of “anti-Russian hysteria.”