The key facts

  • Bulgaria issued European arrest warrants for two 19-year-old Germans in the case of the arson of Starlink antennas on October 9
  • Of 18 antennas, three were completely destroyed, two partially burned, and three more damaged
  • DANS head Plamen Tonchev considers the incident a targeted act of sabotage and does not rule out repeats

Arrest warrants and suspects

On Monday, October 19, Bulgaria issued European arrest warrants for two 19-year-old German nationals suspected of involvement in sabotage against Starlink antennas near Sofia. The court in Sofia, granting the prosecutors' request, stated: 'The evidence gathered allows the conclusion that there are reasonable grounds to suspect the involvement of the two accused.'

Circumstances of the incident

According to the prosecution, the suspects are charged with deliberately setting fire to the antennas on the evening of October 9. Of the 18 antennas in a mountainous area south of Sofia, three were completely destroyed, two partially burned, and three more were damaged. The prosecution reports that the suspects entered from Serbia in a car with German license plates, presenting themselves as tourists, and were in the country for only a few hours during the period of the alleged crime.

Context and authorities' position

Ukraine's military uses Starlink satellite internet (the military version Starshield) for communications on the battlefield. Bulgaria does not border Ukraine but has access to the Black Sea — one of the flashpoints of the conflict. The head of Bulgaria's internal security agency DANS, Plamen Tonchev, said he proceeds from the assumption that this was a targeted act of sabotage and did not rule out similar acts in the future.

Connection to the case in Poland

The news of the warrants came a week after the arrests in Germany of four people accused of sabotage against a Starlink satellite communications station in central Poland at the end of September. German police early last week detained three men and one woman residing in Germany, two of them Turkish nationals. Polish officials believed Russia was behind the sabotage attempt; Prime Minister Donald Tusk called it an act of 'hybrid war.' Polish intelligence also claimed that Russia had cooperated with elements of organized crime in Germany. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Lithuania said on Sunday that Russia was probably behind the attempted arson of a company servicing communications equipment for Starlink satellites in the Baltic region.