Starlink Station Arson: Two Turkish Nationals Arrested in Germany

In brief

The German Federal Criminal Police Office apprehended two Turkish citizens on October 12, 2026, wanted for a September 23 act of sabotage.
The suspects are currently in custody awaiting the execution of a European Arrest Warrant and transfer to the Polish justice system.
The arson occurred at a strategic site operated by Exatel, which provides internet access to, among others, war-torn Ukraine.

Arrest in Germany and Article 130 charges

The German Federal Criminal Police Office arrested two Turkish citizens on Monday, October 12, 2026, suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station in Wola Krobowska. Upon their transfer to Poland under a European Arrest Warrant, they will face charges of sabotage, subversion, and acting on behalf of foreign intelligence under Article 130 of the Penal Code. German officers carried out the operation based on evidence gathered by the Polish Police, the Central Investigation Bureau of the Police, the Internal Security Agency, and the prosecutor's office.

The men are currently awaiting the EAW procedure in German custody. Polish authorities issued arrest warrants last week. Before the convoy can take place, a German court must examine the formal admissibility of their extradition to Polish law enforcement.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated on the X platform that the incident is another act of hybrid warfare. The head of government also announced that the perpetrators of the sabotage will answer directly to the Polish justice system.

Investigative findings and the role of foreign intelligence

Investigators possess solid evidence. As stated by the Police Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Insp. Marek Boroń, officers have precisely reconstructed the suspects' route, their arrival in Poland, and their evacuation moment after the arson. The prosecutor's office holds video recordings, fingerprints, and secured DNA profiles of both detainees.

The administrative status of the detained men is also clear. Gen. Insp. Boroń reported that one of them resided legally in Germany. The second had an order to leave the country, but due to his arrest in criminal proceedings, he is awaiting transfer to Polish investigators instead of deportation.

Authorities are explicitly naming the mastermind. Minister-Coordinator of Special Services Tomasz Siemoniak stated that Russian services are behind the act of subversion, hiring individuals from the criminal underworld for operations in Poland rather than using their own citizens. The politician recalled that citizens of Ukraine and Colombia, among others, had been hired for similar tasks previously.

According to findings shared by Siemoniak, more people were involved in the actual execution of the attack.

The course of the arson in Wola Krobowska

The fire broke out late in the evening on September 23, 2026, in the village of Wola Krobowska in the Grójec district. The property owner notified services after the fire engulfed the antenna installation, the switchgear, and the power generator. Three fire brigades, prevention officers, the provincial headquarters, and technicians were dispatched to the scene. No one was injured, but firefighters immediately ruled out a spontaneous technological failure.

Two days later, the Mazovian division of the National Prosecutor's Office formally launched an investigation into sabotage and a terrorist-related crime committed on behalf of foreign intelligence.

The base in Wola Krobowska is a piece of critical infrastructure. The facility began operations at the end of 2021 as the first installation of its kind in the country. It consists of over a dozen spherical antennas about two meters in diameter, secured by a metal fence. Together with its sister station near Kaunas, Lithuania, it provides satellite connectivity for a significant part of Central and Eastern Europe. The facility is managed by the state-owned telecommunications operator Exatel, which guarantees stable data transmission through Poland to war-torn Ukraine.

Sources

Article prepared with the help of artificial intelligence based on: Bankier.pl, Radio PiK, Rzeczpospolita, RMF24, WP Wiadomości, Gazeta.pl, Polsat News. Facts checked automatically against these sources. The Wiadomości PRO newsroom is responsible for this publication.