Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that German authorities have arrested two Turkish nationals on the order of Polish officials. The announcement came on 2024-04-29 and again on 2026-10-12 via social media, according to the sources.
The two Turkish citizens are suspected of starting a fire at a Starlink station in the Masowien region of Poland at the end of September. Sources describe the blaze as occurring in late September, with chronology noting the fire on 2026-09-28 and again on 2026-10-12.
A Starlink station serving Ukraine’s military was set on fire in Poland. Prosecutors suspect Russia ordered the attack. Denmark now rates the risk of a limited Russian attack on NATO as “low but growing,” though NATO, US and Estonia downplay the threat. https://t.co/D9hkgqbIjH
The station is owned by the state telecom company Exatel. It is critical for routing internet data through Poland into Ukraine and supports the Ukrainian military's communication and drone operations.
The perpetrators of the sabotage will answer before the Polish justice system.
Donald Tusk described the incident as "weiterer Akt hybrider Kriegsführung", another act of hybrid warfare. Marcin Kierwinski echoed this, saying "This is another act of hybrid warfare. The perpetrators of the sabotage will answer before the Polish justice system." Krzysztof Gawkowski added that there are many indications the sabotage belongs to the next phase of hybrid warfare.
Starlink 🇵🇱 Poland Poland reports arrests of 2 Turkish citizens in Germany in connection with Starlink station fire last month. Polish officials on Monday said that two Turkish citizens have been detained in Germany in connection with a fire last month at a Starlink station in Poland. The satellite-based Starlink internet service is widely used by the military of Poland's neighbor Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Officials from several EU countries have been warning of mounting Russian sabotage, cyber and hybrid attacks across Europe aiming either to erode support for Ukraine or to impact Ukraine directly. Polish officials did not specify exactly where or when the two men were allegedly detained in Germany. What did Poland say about the arrests and the case? Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski reported the arrests on Monday, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk following soon after. "On behalf of Polish services, German police detained two Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to a Starlink station in Masovia," he said on social media. "This is another act of hybrid warfare. The perpetrators of the sabotage will answer before the Polish justice system." Polish officials did not specify exactly where or when the two men were allegedly detained in Germany. Masovia is the province that includes the Polish capital Warsaw, not that far from Poland's eastern borders to Belarus and Ukraine. Poland blames Russia for incident Poland's Special Services Minister Tomasz Siemoniak alleged that Russia was behind the incident. He also told a press conference that, "it is worth adding that Russian services are increasingly turning to individuals linked to the criminal underworld" for such attacks. Russia typically dismisses European claims of hybrid warfare or systemic sabotage as either anti-Russian hysteria or disinformation.
The Polish government in Warsaw suspects Russia is behind the operation, consistent with previous Polish accusations of Russian sabotage since the invasion began in February 2022. Krzysztof Gawkowski said much points to an attack within the "new Russian attack doctrine", and other claims directly blame Russia for the incident.
Krzysztof Gawkowski stated the sabotage was intentionally designed to put the station out of operation: "Diese Sabotage war absichtlich so konzipiert, um die Station außer Betrieb zu setzen." He also said the fire disrupted internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian Army: "der Internetzugang für verschiedene Institutionen gestört worden, einschließlich der ukrainischen Armee".
🇩🇪🇵🇱 German police detained a woman in Berlin as the third person suspected of involvement in the Starlink sabotage case in Poland, RMF24 reports. The broadcaster says she may have transported the two Turkish suspects whose arrests were announced yesterday. Polish prosecutors are assessing her alleged role & whether to seek her transfer to Poland. Separately, RMF24 reports, citing unofficial information, that Polish police checked the two men near the site after the fire & allowed them to leave. Records from that encounter later helped investigators trace their movements. #Germany #Poland #Starlink
Starlink services for Ukraine were enabled by Elon Musk's SpaceX after the 2022 Russian invasion. Poland covers the subscription costs for these services, as noted by both the brief and the claim that Musk hatte die Starlink-Dienste für die Ukraine nach dem Beginn der russischen Invasion 2022 freigeschaltet and that Polen übernimmt nach eigenen Angaben die Kosten für die Abonnements der Ukraine.
A second source reports that Donald Tusk announced the arrest of two Turkish citizens in Germany suspected of arson at a Starlink facility in Poland, with the late‑September fire disrupting internet access, including for the Ukrainian army, and being investigated as a potential act of hybrid warfare linked to Russian aggression. A third source simply notes that Polish officials report arrests of two Turkish citizens in Germany in connection with the fire at a Starlink station, blaming Russia.
The brief claims that Musk activated Starlink for Ukraine after the start of the Russian invasion in 2022 and that Poland pays the subscription fees for Ukraine’s use of the service.
The fire disrupted internet access for various institutions, notably the Ukrainian Army, as stated by Krzysztof Gawkowski: "der Internetzugang für verschiedene Institutionen gestört worden, einschließlich der ukrainischen Armee".
According to the claim, German police arrested the two Turkish citizens on the order of Polish authorities: "Die deutsche Polizei habe die beiden türkischen Staatsbürger im Auftrag der polnischen Behörden festgenommen".
Krzysztof Gawkowski and other assertions suggest the attack fits within a "new Russian attack doctrine" and represents a further phase of hybrid warfare.
Multiple claims and statements from Polish officials, including the government’s suspicion, the blame placed on Russia, and Tusk’s characterization of the act as hybrid warfare, all point to Russian involvement.
The rhetoric of hybrid warfare recurs: Tusk’s "weiterer Akt hybrider Kriegsführung", Marcin Kierwinski’s "This is another act of hybrid warfare", and Gawkowski’s reference to the "next phase of hybrid warfare".
It also notes the Russian invasion began in 2022.
A figure described as "Zehntausende" (tens of thousands) indicates the number of Starlink terminals used by the Ukrainian military.
Key dates include: 2024-04-29 – Donald Tusk announces arrests in Germany related to the Starlink fire; 2026-09-28 – Starlink station in Masowien, Poland, set on fire; 2026-09-30 – fire disrupts internet access; 2026-10-12 – arrests in Germany, fire at the facility, and Tusk announces arrests on social media.
The two Turkish nationals are in German custody.