Bulgaria seeks two German suspects over Starlink antenna arson near Sofia
A Bulgarian court has issued European arrest warrants for two 19-year-old German nationals suspected of burning Starlink satellite internet antennas near Sofia. A similar case in Poland led to four arrests in Germany.
Bulgaria on Monday issued European arrest warrants for two 19-year-old German nationals suspected of involvement in the sabotage of Starlink satellite internet antennas near the capital, Sofia. Ukraine's military uses Starlink, including its military-grade Starshield service, for battlefield communications during Russia's invasion. Bulgaria does not border Ukraine but lies on the Black Sea, one of the conflict's flashpoints.
The Sofia court granted a request from prosecutors, saying the evidence gathered gives reasonable grounds to suspect that both defendants were involved.
What is known about the incident
Prosecutors say the two teenagers deliberately set fire to the antennas on the evening of October 9 in a mountainous area south of Sofia. Of 18 antennas, three were completely destroyed, two were partly burned and three more were damaged. According to prosecutors, the suspects entered Bulgaria from Serbia in a car with German license plates, posing as tourists, and stayed only a few hours around the time of the alleged crime.
Plamen Tonchev, head of Bulgaria's domestic intelligence agency DANS, said he was working on the assumption of deliberate sabotage and that similar acts could not be ruled out in future.
Link to the Polish case
Last week, four people were arrested in Germany on suspicion of sabotaging a Starlink satellite communications station in central Poland in late September. German police detained three men and a woman living in the country; two of them are Turkish nationals. Polish officials believe Russia was behind the attempt, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk called it an act of "hybrid warfare." Poland's domestic intelligence agency also said Russia had cooperated with organized crime elements in Germany on the operation.
Separately, Lithuania's prime minister said on Sunday that Russia was likely behind an attempted arson attack on a company hosting communication hardware for Starlink satellites.
