Poland says two Turks arrested over Russia-linked Starlink station fire

Two Turkish citizens have been detained in Germany over a fire at a Starlink station in central Poland that Warsaw has branded an act of sabotage carried out on Russia’s behalf.

Polish officials announced the arrests on Monday, one month after the fire, which they say was aimed at disrupting internet services, including for Ukraine’s military. The fire, in Masovia in Eastern Poland, engulfed the Starlink station’s power system and backup generator.

Polish Minister of Interior Marcin Kierwinski said the two men would face charges in Poland of carrying out sabotage on the instructions of a foreign intelligence agency. German police made the arrests on behalf of Polish services, according to Deutsche Welle. Polish officials did not say where or when in Germany the men were detained.

“We have no doubt that Russian services are behind this act of sabotage,” Special Services Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said in a news conference. “It is worth adding that Russian services are increasingly turning to individuals linked to the criminal underworld,” he said.

The case is the latest in a string of incidents that officials across the European Union deem to be part of a Russian campaign of sabotage and hybrid attacks aimed at eroding support for Ukraine.

The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Moscow has previously dismissed similar accusations as baseless and the product of anti-Russian hysteria.

Ukraine’s military relies on tens of thousands of Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and occasional drone operations. Starlink founder Elon Musk activated the service over Ukraine in 2022, days after Russia’s full-scale invasion, following a plea from Kyiv. Poland has said it pays for Ukraine’s Starlink subscription.

Musk has since clashed with Ukrainian officials over his views on the war. This year, he also agreed to switch off thousands of Russian “grey-market” Starlink terminals in Ukraine, causing problems for Russian forces. Ukraine is now seeking to use the terminals for attacks on Russian territory.