Starlink ground station in Poland hit by fire in suspected arson attack

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

A fire last night at a ground station in Poland used by Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, was caused deliberately, says digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski.

The facility is used to provide internet services across the region, including in Ukraine, which relies heavily on Starlink connections. Although the fire is still being investigated, “the modus operandi in this case is clearly Russian”, says Gawkowski.

Firefighters were called out at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday to the facility, which is located in the village of Wola Krobowska, just south of the capital Warsaw. Due to suspicions that the fire had been caused deliberately, police and officers from the Internal Security Agency (ABW) were also later dispatched to the scene.

“We’re dealing with an arson attack that was intended to impact critical telecommunications infrastructure that influences internet operation,” Gakowski, who also serves as deputy prime minister, told broadcaster TVN on Thursday morning.

In a separate interview with TVP, the minister said that the facility is owned by Polish state telecommunications operator Exatel and “provides internet transmission through Poland, and also to Ukraine”.

He noted that other internet providers use Exatel’s facility, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is the owner of Starlink. Starlink terminals have been vital in Ukraine during Russia’s war against the country.

Gawkowski told TVN that “the modus operandi in this case is clearly Russian” and “is another element of the hybrid warfare we are facing”. Poland has been one of the primary targets for Russian sabotage operations in Europe, including a series of arson attacks.

“The Russians want to paralyse critical infrastructure, cut off water, gas and electricity, paralyse the internet,” said the minister. “All these processes have one goal: to incite panic and stir up emotions.”

However, in his remarks to TVP, Gakowski acknowledged that, for now, “it is impossible to say” for sure whether Russia was behind the attack.

The spokesman for Poland’s security services, Jacek Dobrzyński, likewise told TVN that “at this stage it is still too early to talk about the causes or motives of this fire”. However, he confirmed that “everything points to arson”.

Justice minister Waldemar Żurek also told broadcaster RMF that “this could be an act of sabotage, and we are taking that into account, so nothing can be ruled out here, especially since these are sensitive elements that ensure satellite communications”.

Polish news service Defence24 notes that ground stations are used by Starlink to connect its satellite constellation with terrestrial communications infrastructure. The facility in Poland, alongside one in Lithuania, serves the entire Central and Eastern Europe region, including Ukraine.

Earlier this month, a fire broke out at a drone plant in Poland belonging to WB Electronics, which supplies the armed forces of Ukraine and Poland, among others. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that there was “no doubt” the fire was caused deliberately, and that Russia was likely behind it.

The Polish government has in recent months warned that Russia is planning to escalate its hybrid actions against Poland and other countries in the region, including through acts of sabotage, disinformation, and potential airspace and border violations.

In July, a Russian missile entered Polish airspace before landing in a field in eastern Poland. On Wednesday this week, the same day as the fire in Wola Krobowska broke out, a Russian helicopter briefly entered Polish airspace.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Komenda Główna Państwowej Straży Pożarnej (under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.