Fire damages Poland Starlink station; sabotage suspected

A fire broke out the evening of 23 September at a Starlink ground station in Wola-Krobowska, Mazowieckie Voivodeship, Poland. The property owner alerted emergency services after antennas caught fire. The Grójec fire service received the call around 21:00 and deployed three crews, who extinguished the blaze. No one was injured. The power distribution unit and a backup generator were damaged. The Exatel-operated facility has about a dozen two-metre dome antennas and, with a similar site near Kaunas, Lithuania, supports connectivity across Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. Police prevention units and regional headquarters officers worked at the site. Poland's Internal Security Agency and Central Bureau of Investigation Police were informed. The station was operational again the next day. Investigators are considering arson and an electrical fault as the main possibilities. Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said there are strong indications of deliberate sabotage or hybrid warfare, while stressing that Russia's involvement has not been established. Officials warned disruption could affect internet access and systems used by institutions, including the Ukrainian military. Starlink can reroute traffic, so damage to this station would not cut Ukraine off, though it could reduce capacity, increase latency or slow service in parts of the region.