Poland Calls Starlink Ground Station Fire Sabotage

An overnight fire at Exatel’s Starlink uplink station in Wola Krobowska, Poland, was an act of sabotage, digital minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Thursday. Speaking to TVP Info, the minister said the fire was intended to disrupt a station he described as vital to the security and continuity of internet services in Ukraine, according to Politico Europe.

Firefighters responded Wednesday evening after the blaze broke out at the antenna installation in the village about 50 kilometres south of Warsaw. They found a burned power supply cabinet and reported no injuries, TVN24 said. The site is a ground gateway that connects Starlink satellites with terrestrial internet networks, and together with a station in Kaunas, Lithuania, it serves Central European users as well as Ukraine. Polish radio station RMF FM reported that investigators found a bottle containing a flammable substance at the scene.

Poland’s counterintelligence agency, the ABW, and police are investigating the incident, while the prosecutor’s office said sabotage could not be ruled out. Exatel, the state-owned telecom company linked to the site, said the incident did not affect the services it provides. Gawkowski said work was underway to keep the station operating normally.

For Ukraine, the stakes go well beyond one antenna field. Officials say the country has the most Starlink terminals in the world, and Kyiv highlighted that dependence in August when Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Elon Musk the Order of Freedom for the network’s role since Russia’s invasion. The incident also follows Starlink’s move to switch off what was described as Russia’s secret weapon in Ukraine, showing how directly the network is tied to the information war.

Gawkowski has previously warned that Poland faces between 2,000 and 3,000 cyberattacks on its infrastructure every day. Prime minister Donald Tusk also said last week that intelligence assessments point to Russia preparing more hybrid attacks against countries backing Kyiv. Whether investigators identify the culprits will shape how Poland protects other critical telecom sites, and other European ground stations could face similar threats in the months ahead.