Poland suspects sabotage after Starlink station serving Ukraine catches fire

A fire at a Starlink ground station in Poland was no accident, according to Polish officials, who believe someone deliberately tried to knock the facility offline.

The station’s power system and backup generator was damaged due to the blaze that suddenly erupted at the station in Wola Krobowska, south of Warsaw and the attack has now been investigated as an attempted sabotage attempt.

The facility not only serves Poland but also carries internet traffic across the region, including to Ukraine, where the Elon Musk-owned satellite internet service provider has played an important role in keeping the military connected.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said the fire was deliberately started to cut internet access and disrupt services used by different institutions, including the Ukrainian military.

The fire was contained and the operations at the station resumed.

Gawkowski said there were signs that it fit the pattern of Russian hybrid warfare; however, he didn’t blame Moscow directly.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk was similarly cautious, saying he would wait for “100% certainty” before calling it sabotage, although he admitted the incident “does not look good.”

Police and Poland's Internal Security Agency are investigating. The fire comes at an uneasy time for Europe.

On the same day, Denmark's defence intelligence service warned that Russia is likely to step up hybrid attacks against NATO and Western countries in the coming months.

Danish intelligence expects those operations to become more frequent and potentially more damaging, ranging from sabotage to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.

It also sees a “low but growing risk” of Russia carrying out a limited military attack against one or more NATO countries bordering Russia.

That doesn't mean Denmark expects a wider Russian invasion. Its intelligence chief described such a scenario as highly unlikely.

Moscow has repeatedly denied carrying out sabotage or waging hybrid warfare against NATO countries.