Poland has blamed Russia for an arson attack on a Starlink satellite station in September and announced the arrest of two Turkish citizens in Germany in connection with the act of sabotage, authorities said Monday.
Polish officials stated that the suspects, whose names were withheld due to privacy regulations, are accused of intentionally setting fire to Starlink infrastructure on September 23 in Wola Krobowska, Poland. The location is approximately 25 miles south of Warsaw.
"We have no doubt that Russian intelligence services are behind this act of sabotage," said Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland's minister overseeing intelligence services. He noted that Russian intelligence increasingly recruits individuals with ties to the criminal underworld. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the incident on X as "another act of hybrid warfare."
The arson is one of more than 210 incidents across Europe that Western officials attribute to sabotage and malign activity linked to Russia, tracked by The Associated Press since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to officials, the objectives of these attacks include undermining support for Ukraine, fostering fear and discord within European societies, and depleting investigative resources. Russia often employs proxies for such operations, with some perpetrators claiming ignorance of being hired by Moscow.
Siemoniak also stated at a security conference in Warsaw on Tuesday that Russia's intelligence services are engaged in almost "daily acts of subversion." He added that such activities occur weekly not only in Poland but also in other European nations, targeting countries that support Ukraine.
He further elaborated that Russia's covert malign activities in Poland began in early 2024, with Russia recruiting disposable agents through platforms like Telegram to carry out attacks, including one against a shopping center.
"Our enemy — that is Russia’s intelligence services — changes its methods of operation and has unlimited resources," Siemoniak said. He described combating these services as distinct from dismantling organized crime groups, as subversive activities are more fluid and unpredictable.
Beate Gangås, Norway's director-general of the Police Security Service, likened the persistent nature of these activities to a dragon with continuously growing heads, emphasizing the unpredictability of their next moves. She characterized the current situation as the most serious since World War II.