Arson at Starlink Station: Polish Prosecutors Investigating Theory of Sabotage Ordered by Russia

The fire at the Starlink station in Poland was caused by arson. Investigators are examining the possibility of sabotage and a terrorist act carried out on behalf of Russian intelligence agencies.

This was reported by the Polish news agency PAP, citing a spokesperson for the Polish National Public Prosecutor’s Office.

On Friday, a prosecutor from the Mazovia Branch of the Polish National Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the fire in the village of Wola Krobowska.

“There is reasonable suspicion in this case that the perpetrators acted on behalf of Russian intelligence services and in the interests of foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland. The goal of their actions was to disrupt the operation of the Starlink network and internet connectivity in Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe,” emphasized the spokesperson for the National Public Prosecutor’s Office, Prosecutor Przemysław Nowak.

The prosecutor said that on Thursday, law enforcement officers inspected the scene and interviewed witnesses. Officers from the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the Central Investigation Bureau of Police (CBŚP) worked alongside the prosecutors at the scene.

“An investigation has been opened into the incident. No one has been charged at this time,” Novak noted.

Czesław Mroczek, Poland’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, stated that the evidence gathered—including surveillance camera footage—confirms that the fire was arson. However, he added that it is not yet known whether it was an act of sabotage.

Earlier reports indicated that the fire broke out late in the evening on September 23 in an electrical distribution cabinet to which the station’s antennas were connected. A power generator was also damaged.
During an inspection of the scene near the burned-out distribution cabinet, law enforcement officers discovered a bottle containing a flammable substance. Deputy Minister of National Defence Cezary Tomczyk called for the sabotage theory to be investigated.

Starlink ground stations

According to SpaceX’s technical diagram, the user terminal transmits data to the satellite via a Ku-band radio channel. The terminal’s antenna electronically directs the beam toward the satellite and switches to another one when the current one leaves the coverage area.

The satellite then transmits the traffic to a ground gateway via a separate radio channel. The station’s antennas receive the signal, after which the data travels via fiber-optic cable to the Starlink network, which connects to other internet networks.

However, the satellite does not necessarily transmit data to the station closest to the user. If necessary, it relays the data via a laser link to another satellite that has access to a ground gateway. In 2022, a Polish government portal reported that the station in Wola Krobowska, along with the station in Kaunas, served Central Europe. Satellites over Ukraine also communicated with the Polish node.