Attempted Starlink Arson in Vilnius: Two Suspects Detained in Germany
Lithuanian law enforcement has identified two men who tried to set fire to a Starlink satellite antenna in Vilnius on 18 October. Both, aged about 20, were detained in Germany, and the case is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Lithuanian authorities say they have identified the people who tried to set fire to a Starlink satellite communications antenna in Vilnius in the early hours of 18 October. Starlink is the satellite system operated by Elon Musk's company SpaceX. Two men of about 20 who live in Germany have been detained, and the incident is being investigated in Lithuania as an act of terrorism. Similar attacks on Starlink infrastructure have occurred in other European countries and are viewed as part of hybrid attacks aimed at critical infrastructure and at those who support Ukraine.
What happened in Vilnius
The crime took place at around 2:30 a.m. on Jurgio Tiškevičiaus Street, in a fenced company compound. SpaceX rents premises there from a Lithuanian company, and the site houses Starlink infrastructure that forms part of a wider network serving residents, businesses and the armed forces. The fire was fairly large, but a security guard noticed it in time, and it was put out before firefighters arrived. Saulius Brigin, deputy head of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, said the aim was to destroy the antennas.
The suspects
Both men live in Germany: one holds Serbian and German citizenship, the other Turkish and German. Brigin said they arrived in Lithuania a day before the crime and left immediately afterwards, and that they have no ties to Lithuania. In his words, the act was not spontaneous and the pair had prepared for it.
They are suspected of forming an organised terrorist group, taking part in it, entering a country for terrorist purposes and carrying out a terrorist act that could have had serious consequences. Terrorism carries a prison sentence of five to 15 years. The investigation was handled by a specialised unit of the Criminal Police Bureau that combats terrorism and the most serious forms of organised crime.
Similar cases elsewhere
A similar crime occurred in Poland on 23 September and in Bulgaria on 9 October; these attacks are believed to be linked to Russia. In Bulgaria, media reported that two masked men set fire to 11 Starlink antennas. Lithuanian officials believe the same suspects may be responsible for that case as well. Four more suspects have been detained in Poland, but their connection to the arson cases has not yet been disclosed.
Bulgarian parliament member Ivaylo Mirchev stated that the destroyed antennas provided the main communications link to satellites that are actively used in the war in Ukraine.
