A fire occurred at a Starlink station in Poland that provides communications to Ukraine: arson suspected
A fire broke out on the premises of a Starlink satellite communications ground base station in Wola Krobowska, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. According to preliminary findings by firefighters, the cause may have been arson.
The fire broke out on the evening of September 23. The owner of the plot where the telecommunications infrastructure elements are located alerted emergency services about the antennas catching fire.
According to Polish rescuers, the fire engulfed the power supply station of a container. Three firefighting units were involved in extinguishing it. The fire was put out, but the electrical distribution board and generator were damaged.
RMF24 notes that the base in Wola Krobowska, together with a similar facility near Kaunas in Lithuania, provides satellite internet access for a significant part of Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine.
At the same time, Polish sources do not report major disruptions to Starlink operations in Ukraine as a result of the incident.
After the fire, police arrived at the scene, and the incident was reported to Poland's Internal Security Agency and the Central Police Investigation Bureau. Law enforcement is establishing the exact causes of the fire.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs of Poland Krzysztof Gawkowski stated that many circumstances may indicate a deliberate attempt to disrupt the operation of critical telecommunications infrastructure. He suggested that the incident may be an element of hybrid warfare, but the perpetrators of the fire have not been officially identified yet.
According to Gawkowski, such ground stations play an important role not only for Polish infrastructure but also for ensuring satellite internet operation in Ukraine.
