Poland announced that two Turkish citizens were detained in Germany in connection with September’s fire at a Starlink station. Polish officials allege foreign-intelligence involvement and blame Russian services; those allegations remain unproven. The station’s power system and backup generator were damaged. The new development is the arrests, involving infrastructure used for internet connections including Ukraine’s military communications.
Poland announced on 12 October that two Turkish citizens had been detained in Germany in connection with a fire at a Starlink satellite-internet station in central Poland. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said the suspects would face accusations of sabotage on instructions from a foreign intelligence agency. No conviction has been announced in connection with these allegations.[1], [2]
The station’s power system and backup generator were engulfed by the September fire. Warsaw said at the time that it suspected sabotage intended to interrupt internet services, including connections used by Ukraine’s military. Monday’s announcement concerns the arrests in Germany following that earlier incident. Special Services Minister Tomasz Siemoniak blamed Russian intelligence at a news conference and alleged that Russian services increasingly recruit people from the criminal underworld.[1]
Starlink services were activated over Ukraine in 2022. Poland has previously said it pays for Ukraine’s subscriptions. The Ukrainian military uses tens of thousands of terminals for battlefield communications and some drone operations. Russia generally rejects European allegations of sabotage and cyberattacks as baseless. Its Warsaw embassy did not immediately answer Reuters’ request for comment on this particular incident.[1]
