Bulgaria Seeks Arrest of 2 German Nationals Over Arson Attack on Starlink Antennas

Bulgarian authorities are seeking the arrest of two 19-year-old German nationals accused of burning Starlink antennas at the Plana Teleport facility near Sofia. Prosecutors charged them in absentia and requested custody through European arrest warrants. The alleged attack matters because the site supports satellite communications, including services relied on by Ukraine during its defense against Russian drones.

According to prosecutors, the pair entered Bulgaria from Serbia on Oct. 9, wearing gloves and masks when they allegedly set fire to eight antennas. Three were destroyed completely, two were partly damaged, and three were affected. Bulgaria’s security agency chief described the fire as sabotage and warned that more attacks could not be ruled out.

The case remains contested. Court-appointed lawyers said investigators identified the German-registered car but not the people inside it. The court found reasonable grounds for suspicion, while both lawyers said they would appeal. German authorities said the suspects’ whereabouts were unknown.

A Starlink antenna is a dish-like communications device that sends data to and receives data from satellites in orbit. It is one link in a larger system, rather than the satellite itself. The antenna converts digital information into radio signals and receives signals coming back from the network.

At a ground-based satellite communications station, groups of antennas connect the satellite network with terrestrial infrastructure. They can pass internet traffic between satellites, the station’s equipment, and users or other networks. The Plana Teleport facility is described as a modern ground-based satellite communications station. Prosecutors said eight of its antennas were targeted.

Damaging antennas can reduce the station’s ability to communicate, though the article does not quantify the resulting service loss. In Bulgaria, three antennas were reportedly destroyed, two partly damaged, and three affected. The Warsaw facility also helped provide internet access across Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine.

The Bulgarian damage was substantial but described differently by officials and a lawmaker. Prosecutors said eight antennas were set on fire: three were completely destroyed, two were partially damaged, and three others were affected. Opposition lawmaker Ivaylo Mirchev gave a higher figure, saying 11 of the site’s 17 antennas were burned.

The suspects allegedly crossed from Serbia into Bulgaria through the Kalotina checkpoint at 5:37 p.m. on Oct. 9. They reportedly used a German-registered car and told border officers they were tourists. At about 10:25 p.m., prosecutors say they set the fires at the Plana facility while wearing gloves and masks.

They allegedly crossed back into Serbia through the same checkpoint at 11:55 p.m. That means the reported stay lasted roughly six hours and 18 minutes. The exact damage remains disputed, as does whether the two men were the people inside the identified car.

Ukraine relies on Starlink-related connectivity while defending itself against Russian jet-powered drones. The article links attacks on satellite infrastructure to concern over whether that access can remain available. A disruption would not automatically end Ukrainian operations, but it could interfere with communications supporting drone activity.

The article gives a recent example. Overnight on Oct. 13-14, SpaceX changed parameters for Ukraine’s Starshield, and Ukrainian drone operations were disrupted. The report also says Ukrainian authorities had not received a partner warning about Russian ballistic missiles around the same time. These details show how sensitive military activity can be to network access and information flows.

The longer-term effect remains uncertain. The article does not state how many operations would be affected or how quickly alternatives could be restored. It does show that fires at ground facilities, changes to network settings, and wider tensions with the United States were all putting pressure on Ukraine’s access.

A European arrest warrant is a legal request used among participating European countries to locate and surrender a person wanted for prosecution or punishment. It is designed to make cross-border cases faster than relying only on traditional extradition. Bulgaria issued such warrants because the two suspects are German nationals and were no longer known to be in Bulgaria.

In this case, the Sofia City Court approved the prosecutor’s request to have the pair held in custody. German authorities said their current whereabouts were unknown. The article also reports that German authorities arrested the suspects in Nürtingen, near Stuttgart, on Oct. 13, though the Bulgarian report separately says their whereabouts were unknown.

The warrants do not establish guilt. Bulgarian courts still need to address the allegations, and the suspects’ lawyers challenge their identification. The Sofia court found reasonable grounds for suspicion, but both court-appointed lawyers said they would appeal the ruling. If convicted, the men could face three to 12 years in prison.

The Bulgarian incident fits a wider series of reported attacks or attempted attacks involving Starlink-related infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe. The facilities matter because they support communications across borders, including internet access for Ukraine. Officials in several countries therefore treated the incidents as possible sabotage or hostile activity.

On Sept. 23, a fire damaged antennas and a generator at a Starlink ground station in Wola Krobowska, south of Warsaw. The facility, run by Polish state operator Exatel, helps provide internet access across Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. Warsaw suspected Russian intelligence was behind that attack. Bulgaria’s security agency chief likewise called the Sofia fire sabotage.

Lithuania reported another attempted attack on Oct. 18. Someone tried to burn a company storing Starlink equipment but failed after security services warned the company. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned of possible increased hybrid attacks, sabotage, and border provocations, but the article does not prove that all incidents shared one perpetrator.

Satellite internet is not provided by satellites alone. Ground stations connect the space-based network to terrestrial communications systems, where data can enter, leave, or move through the wider internet. Their antennas maintain radio links with satellites and help direct traffic between orbital and ground networks.

The article illustrates this regional role through the Starlink facility in Wola Krobowska, south of Warsaw. Run by Poland’s Exatel, it helps provide internet access across Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. In Bulgaria, the Plana Teleport facility contained 17 antennas, according to opposition lawmaker Ivaylo Mirchev. Prosecutors said eight were affected by fire.

Because one station can serve traffic beyond its immediate location, damage may have effects across a wider area. The article does not measure the Bulgarian outage or confirm regional service losses. It does show why officials considered the attacks serious: three antennas were destroyed, further attacks were warned against, and Ukraine’s network access was already under strain.