Starlink Gateway Station Serving Ukraine Targeted in Arson Attempt in Lithuania

During the night of October 18, perpetrators attempted to set fire to a Lithuanian company that houses a ground gateway station for the Starlink communications system.

LRT reported the incident, citing Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius.

According to him, the company provides communications through nine Starlink satellite antennas used by Ukraine.
“Another incident occurred shortly after midnight last night — an attempt to set fire to a Lithuanian company where Starlink communications equipment is stored. Authorities had warned the company of possible attacks, security was increased, and the attempt failed,” Mindaugas Sinkevičius reported.

He said Lithuanian authorities were closely monitoring hostile states’ activities and taking measures to protect people and their property. The prime minister linked the incident to Russia’s hybrid war against Europe.

“At around 2 a.m., perpetrators attempted to burn the satellite antennas and control unit. They found incendiary liquids and various containers — 3-5-liter containers and a 10-liter canister. Clearly, this was an attempted act of sabotage, as we are already seeing similar incidents repeated across Europe. Clearly, (…) this is part of Russia’s hybrid war involving acts of sabotage,” he said.

Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas also confirmed the arson attempt but said he could not yet provide further details.

“The situation has been brought under control, further actions have been prevented, but the investigation is ongoing,” the minister told reporters.

This is the third attack in the past 30 days on Starlink gateway stations in Europe that, among other things, provide communications in Ukraine. The first attack took place on September 23 at a station in the Polish village of Wola Krobowska.

Two Turkish nationals suspected of involvement in the arson were arrested in the German city of Nürtingen on October 12. One theory is that the arson may have been carried out by the Turkish organized crime group Daltons on behalf of Russian intelligence services.

The second attack took place during the night of October 10 at a closed facility in the Plana mountain range near the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. On October 15, two German nationals, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in Bulgaria on suspicion of arson.

Starlink Ground Gateway Stations

According to SpaceX’s technical diagram, a user terminal transmits data to a satellite over a Ku-band radio link. The terminal’s antenna electronically steers its beam toward the satellite and switches to another when the satellite moves out of range.

The satellite then transmits traffic to a ground gateway station over a separate radio link. 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.

The satellite does not necessarily relay data to the ground gateway station closest to the user. If needed, it forwards the data via a laser link to another satellite that can reach a ground gateway.