Arson at Starlink ground station near Sofia serves Ukrainian military, mirrors Polish attack
Two masked men set fire to 11 of 17 Starlink antennas at a secret facility near Sofia, Bulgaria, a ground station that also served Ukrainian military users, including for drone operations. Bulgarian MP Ivaylo Mirchev first disclosed the incident publicly on the evening of 12 October, criticising Bulgarian counterintelligence and filing parliamentary inquiries alongside MP Bozhidar Bozhanov. Prime Minister Rumen Radev confirmed the fire at a 14 October parliamentary hearing but declined to give details. The attack comes weeks after a similar arson at a Starlink ground base in eastern Poland that also served Ukraine, where Polish prosecutors say they have reasonable grounds to suspect Russian special services were behind the act.
Key points
- Two masked men set fire to 11 of 17 Starlink antennas at a secret facility near the Plana satellite station, about 20 km south of Sofia.
- The ground station served Ukrainian military users, including for drone operations and communications.
- Bulgarian MP Ivaylo Mirchev (Yes, Bulgaria) first disclosed the arson on his Facebook page on the evening of 12 October.
- Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior and local media did not publicly report the incident before Mirchev's disclosure, and police arrived late, according to Mirchev.
- Prime Minister Rumen Radev confirmed the fire at a 14 October parliamentary hearing and declined to give details, citing the ongoing investigation.
- Mirchev and MP Bozhidar Bozhanov filed parliamentary inquiries to the special services and the Interior Ministry over possible prior warnings and the delayed police response.
- A similar arson hit a Starlink ground base in Wola Krobowska, eastern Poland, on 23 September; Poland's National Prosecutor's Office says it has reasonable grounds to suspect Russian special services ordered that attack.
Why it matters
The attack has direct operational implications for Ukraine: the burned ground station serviced Ukrainian military communications and drone operations. It closely mirrors a 23 September arson at a Polish Starlink ground base that also served Ukraine, where Polish prosecutors say they have reasonable grounds to suspect Russian special services ordered the act. In Bulgaria, the arson was first disclosed by an opposition MP rather than by the authorities, prompting parliamentary inquiries into possible prior partner warnings and a delayed police response. The head of Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security, Plamen Tonchev, has warned that similar sabotage acts could recur, signalling that operators of Starlink infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine may face further attempts.
What happened
Two masked men deliberately set fire to 11 of 17 Starlink communication antennas at a secret facility near Sofia, Bulgaria, located close to the Plana satellite communications station, roughly 20 km south of the capital. The ground station is part of SpaceX's Starlink network and, according to Bulgarian MP Ivaylo Mirchev, served Ukrainian military users, including for drone operations and communications in the war in Ukraine. The exact date of the arson has not been publicly established, but Mirchev first reported the incident on his Facebook page on the evening of 12 October. He said neither Bulgaria's Ministry of Internal Affairs nor local media had reported it before his disclosure, and that police arrived at the scene late. Mirchev and fellow MP Bozhidar Bozhanov filed official parliamentary inquiries to the special services and the Interior Ministry demanding explanations on possible prior partner warnings, prior knowledge of the sabotage, and the delayed police response. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev confirmed the fire at a 14 October parliamentary hearing but declined to give details, citing the ongoing investigation, and called on the DANS/SANS head not to disclose details of the case, saying Bulgarian services are cooperating with partner services to conclude an operation. The head of the State Agency for National Security, Plamen Tonchev, did not rule out arson and warned that similar sabotage acts could recur. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the state would strengthen protection of such facilities but noted the ground station is privately owned and primary security responsibility lies with the owners. The Bulgarian incident closely follows a 23 September arson at a Starlink ground base in Wola Krobowska, Masovian Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, where two men climbed over a fence, poured an accelerant on a control cabinet, and set it on fire around 21:00. Two Turkish citizens were initially held and released by Polish police and later detained in Germany on 12 October. A spokesperson for Poland's National Prosecutor's Office said the investigation had reasonable grounds to suspect the perpetrators acted on orders from Russian special services and on behalf of a foreign intelligence against Poland. Separately, Ukrainian activist Serhiy Sternenko reported on the morning of 14 October that Starlink terminals had stopped working on the move in Ukraine the previous night, and a later report said SpaceX had imposed restrictions on its StarShield 'military package' without warning Ukraine.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All supplied sources are Ukrainian-language outlets, and they frame the Bulgarian arson primarily through its impact on Ukraine. They lead with the fact that the burned ground station served Ukrainian military communications and drone operations, and place the incident alongside the September Polish arson and Polish statements pointing to Russian special services, presenting the two attacks as part of a pattern of sabotage against Starlink infrastructure used by Ukraine. Ukrainian reporting also gives prominent coverage to MP Ivaylo Mirchev's role in breaking the story and his criticism of Bulgarian counterintelligence, foregrounding his questions about whether partner agencies had warned Bulgaria of the planned attack and why police arrived late.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on who confirmed the incident at the 14 October parliamentary hearing: most outlets name Prime Minister Rumen Radev, while others identify the prime minister as Rosen Zhelyazkov. Reports also differ on the detention of the two Turkish citizens suspected in the Polish Starlink arson: one version says they were initially held and released by Polish police, while another says they were detained in Germany on 12 October.
Background
The Starlink ground station near Sofia is located close to the Plana satellite communications station, approximately 20 km south of the capital. Days before the arson became public, the head of Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security (DANS/SANS), Plamen Tonchev, told a meeting of the Consultative Council on National Security that counterintelligence was actively countering Russian-linked sabotage, a claim Mirchev now disputes. Separately, the Starlink service used by the Ukrainian military has been reported as disrupted by SpaceX restrictions on its StarShield 'military package', with Ukrainian activist Serhiy Sternenko saying on the morning of 14 October that terminals had stopped working on the move the previous night.