Poland: Two Turkish nationals arrested in Germany over the arson of a Starlink station; Siemoniak: “Russian services behind the sabotage”

Polish authorities accused Russian intelligence services of setting fire to a Starlink ground station in Poland and announced the arrest of two suspects in Germany. Both men are Turkish nationals. The operation was announced on Monday, October 12 by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who wrote on X that German police arrested the suspects at the request of the Polish services and that this was “another act of hybrid warfare”. The perpetrators, he noted, “will answer to Polish justice”.

The fire broke out on September 23 at a Starlink station facility in Wola Krowicka, in Mazovia. According to the announcement of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA), the two suspects had fled to Germany and were arrested on European arrest warrants issued last week. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński stressed that all the material supporting the arrests was prepared by the Polish side, that is the Police, the Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the Prosecutor’s Office, and that the case required intensive and painstaking work with partners across Europe.

Who accuses whom

Responsibility was placed on Moscow by Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, who coordinates the country’s special services. “We have no doubt that Russian services are behind this act of sabotage,” he said, adding that Russian services are turning more and more to people from the criminal underworld. In his view the case is a warning to anyone thinking of taking on a sabotage commission. MSWiA says the ABW identified the suspects and passed information to international partners, while no charges were announced and it was not specified exactly which laws apply.

What the station served

The day after the arson, Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski had said the fire might have been a deliberate attempt to cut the internet used by Ukrainian forces at the front. According to him, the station belongs to the state telecommunications provider Exatel and works as a transit hub for traffic through Poland, including towards Ukraine.

That explains why the case fits into the series of hybrid attacks Warsaw denounces. The announcement came on the day Tusk spoke at the Warsaw Security Forum, where he placed full responsibility for the war on Russia. Poland also recently announced the arrest of a suspect over a plot to assassinate Tusk and Defence Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz, without that being officially linked to the Starlink case.