Germany detains two Turkish suspects over Polish Starlink arson

Polish authorities have announced that German police detained two Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station near Warsaw last month.

Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister coordinating the special services, told a news conference in Warsaw on Monday that Poland has requested the suspects’ extradition and has “no doubt” that Russian secret services were behind the arson attack.

“It should also be noted that Russian intelligence agencies are increasingly turning to people linked to the criminal underworld,” Siemoniak said at the press conference.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the incident as another “act of hybrid warfare” and said those responsible for the sabotage would be brought to justice in Poland.

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said the two Turkish citizens would be charged in Poland with carrying out an act of sabotage on the orders of a foreign intelligence agency.

Power supply equipment at a Starlink ground station serving Eastern Europe, including Poland and Ukraine, caught fire on the night of 23 September.

The incident did not cause a major disruption to internet service. The blaze, however, completely destroyed the station’s electrical system and backup generator.

Poland, a key transit route for Western aid to Ukraine, has faced a series of suspicious incidents recently.

Numerous cyberattacks have targeted public utilities, including water and energy infrastructure as well as hospitals.

In addition, damage to a railway line between Warsaw and the Ukrainian border was attributed by officials to Russian sabotage.

In late July, a Russian missile also landed in Poland.