Germany detains two Turkish citizens over arson at Polish Starlink station

German police detained two Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station in central Poland, in the Mazovian Voivodeship. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced this on Monday, October 12.

"On behalf of the Polish services, the German police detained two Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station in Mazovia," Tusk wrote, adding that "this is another act of hybrid warfare."

According to Tusk, the detainees will "answer before the Polish justice system."

Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński confirmed the detentions. According to him, they were the result of cooperation between the Polish police, the Internal Security Agency of Poland (ABW) and German services. The charge, as he indicated, is "sabotage, espionage on behalf of a foreign intelligence service."

The station belongs to the Polish state telecommunications company Exatel and transmits internet traffic through Poland, including to Ukraine. It is also used by SpaceX systems that provide communications via Starlink terminals.

The fire broke out at night at the end of September, but the station remained operational. The next day, Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski said on the air of the public television channel TVP Info that "this act of sabotage was deliberately calculated to put the station out of action… disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian army."

Poland — a NATO and EU member on the alliance's eastern flank — has repeatedly accused Russia of sabotage since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The country has become the main hub for transporting Western military and humanitarian aid to Kyiv.

Last month, Tusk warned that Russia's plans in the war against Ukraine include "hybrid" strikes with drones and missiles against Kyiv's allies.

Source: turkishminute.com

Prepared by:Abdulrahman Sadikhli