Starlink satellite internet facility near Sofia, Bulgaria, set on fire
A fire broke out at a Starlink satellite internet facility near Sofia, the Bulgarian capital. The local opposition says it was deliberate arson, and two people have been detained in connection with the attack.
Bulgarian officials have confirmed that a fire hit a Starlink satellite internet infrastructure facility near the capital, Sofia, last week. Starlink is a satellite internet network run by a US company.
What is known about the attack
Information provided by the local opposition indicates that on 9 October, 11 of the site's 17 base station antennas were deliberately set on fire. That would mean most of the facility's antennas were damaged. The officials' confirmation concerns the fire itself, while the figures on the antennas come from the opposition.
Two people have been detained in Bulgaria in connection with the incident. The source text gives no further details about those detained or the course of the investigation.
Why it matters
The Starlink satellite network currently plays a critically important role in Ukraine's defence and communications against the Russian invasion. An attack on the infrastructure of such a system outside Ukraine therefore draws attention to the network's vulnerability.
The report's headline links the incident in Bulgaria to a previous suspected act of sabotage in Poland. The source text does not specify what that sabotage involved or how the two cases are connected.
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