Fire at Poland Starlink station 'sabotage'

A fire broke out at a Starlink satellite communications station in central Poland overnight, the digital affairs minister said on Thursday, calling the blaze an act of "sabotage."

"This act of sabotage was deliberately designed to disable the station ... disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian army," Krzysztof Gawkowski told Polish public broadcaster TVP Info, adding that the fire broke out late on Wednesday and that the station was still operational.

"There is much to suggest that we are dealing with an element of the next phase of hybrid warfare," he added.

The station, owned by state-owned telecommunications company Exatel, is used, among other things, to transmit internet traffic through Poland, including to Ukraine, according to the minister.

It is also used by SpaceX systems that provide connectivity via Starlink terminals.

Gawkowski said that the investigation was ongoing into the causes of the blaze, "many indications suggest that it fits into this new Russian doctrine of attack".

Poland, a NATO and EU member state along the alliance's eastern flank, has accused Russia of "sabotage" on several occasions since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Poland has become the main hub for transporting Western military and humanitarian support to Kyiv.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia's plans in the war against Ukraine include "hybrid" drone and missile strikes against Kyiv's allies.