The two men detained in Germany for arson of Starlink antennas near Sofia are also being investigated for similar attacks in Lithuania and Poland. They were arrested on October 23 in Duisburg on European arrest warrants issued by Bulgarian authorities after the fire near the capital on October 9.
According to Lithuanian authorities, one of the detainees has German and Turkish citizenship, and the other - German and Serbian. The investigation in Lithuania links the two to an attempt to set fire to Starlink equipment stored by a company in Vilnius.
Arson attempt in Vilnius foiled
Molotov cocktails were used in the attack and flammable liquids. The equipment was not destroyed after security services warned the company in advance of a possible attack and security around the site was increased.
The deputy head of the Lithuanian criminal police, Saulius Briginas, said that the two were in the country immediately before the attempt and left immediately after it. “They traveled to the country immediately before the incident and left immediately after the failed attack attempt“, Briginas said.
The fire in Poland is also being investigated as sabotage
In parallel with the investigations in Bulgaria and Lithuania, authorities in Poland are investigating a fire at a Starlink ground station. The main version is of deliberate sabotage, but the publicly released data does not prove who was behind the incident.
The series of attacks on Starlink infrastructure in Eastern Europe has increased concerns about coordinated actions. Lithuanian authorities are also investigating possible ties of the detainees to Russia, but this hypothesis has not yet been confirmed with evidence.
In Bulgaria, the two are being investigated for the fire at a site near Sofia, where the satellite system's antennas were damaged. The German authorities are yet to rule on the procedures related to the European arrest warrants and the possible handover of the men to the Bulgarian authorities.
Sources: dunavmost.com, lrt.lt, bntnews.bg