The fire at the Starlink station

On 23 September a fire broke out at a Starlink ground station in Wola Krobowska, about 50 kilometres south of Warsaw. The blaze reached a power substation and a generator, and the station briefly went offline before resuming service. Nobody was injured. The station, operated by Exatel, works as an internet hub and carries data from Poland to Ukraine, whose army relies on Starlink links for its defence against the Russian invasion. Polish authorities quickly described the fire as a probable act of sabotage, and the national prosecutor opened an investigation into sabotage and a crime of a terrorist nature carried out for a foreign intelligence service.

Warsaw blames Russia

Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said that much pointed to a deliberate attempt to disrupt the station, which he described as a hub that also helps keep Ukraine online. He stopped short of saying Russians were definitely behind the fire, but said the attack fit a new Russian approach to attacks. Tomasz Siemoniak, coordinator of the special services, went further and said there was no doubt that Russian intelligence stood behind the sabotage. He added that those services increasingly use people linked to organised crime.

Arrests in Germany

On Monday, 12 October, special forces from the Baden-Württemberg state criminal police arrested two Turkish citizens, aged 34 and 38, in Nürtingen. The arrests followed a Polish request for legal assistance and European arrest warrants, and Polish authorities accuse the two men of taking part in the attack. Both are held in pretrial custody. The Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart must now decide whether they will be extradited to Poland, and that decision is expected soon. In Berlin a third person was detained, and Bild reported that this man was the driver. He was later released because no involvement could be proven. Reports differ on the date and details of the Berlin detention, so those points remain unclear.

The Daltons and the alleged Russian link

Der Spiegel reported on Friday, 16 October, that several sources in different countries, working independently, point to the Daltons, a Turkish organised crime group active in Germany. Security sources told the magazine that the two men either belonged to the group or had been commissioned by its supporters. The Daltons may in turn have received the order from Russian intelligence services. According to tagesschau, the group is part of a so-called Gen-Z mafia from Turkey, whose members are linked to extortion, weapons trafficking and contract killings. The group's alleged leader was detained in Russia in 2024, and Turkey requested his extradition, but German security services reportedly believe Moscow has protected him instead.

What remains unclear

The link to Russian intelligence rests on sources cited by Der Spiegel and on statements by Polish officials, and no published evidence has yet confirmed it. Tagesschau reported that it is unclear what proof exists for the Russian involvement. Investigators in Germany also say the Daltons are hard to define, because alliances shift and local offshoots and copycats appear. The next formal step is the Stuttgart court's ruling on extradition to Poland.