Bulgaria has issued arrest warrants for two German suspects over deliberate sabotage of Starlink antennas near its capital.
Bulgarian prosecutors have requested European arrest warrants for two 19-year-old German nationals suspected of intentionally damaging a group of Starlink antennas south of Sofia. The incidents reportedly occurred on the evening of October 9 and involved multiple antennas being set on fire.
The court in Sofia ruled there are reasonable grounds to suspect the two defendants’ involvement, and prosecutors said the suspects had entered Bulgaria from Serbia, posing as tourists and staying only briefly near the time of the alleged sabotage.
Details of the Sabotage Incident
According to prosecutors, the sabotage affected 18 Starlink antennas located in a mountainous area south of Sofia. Three antennas were completely destroyed by fire, two suffered partial damage, and three others were damaged to varying degrees.
Bulgarian domestic intelligence agency chief Plamen Tonchev indicated authorities are treating the incident as deliberate sabotage and cautioned that similar acts might occur in the future.
Context and Regional Implications
Starlink’s military-grade satellite internet service, Starshield, is used by Ukraine’s military to maintain battlefield communications amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. Although Bulgaria does not share a direct border with Ukraine, its location on the Black Sea makes it a strategic point related to the conflict.
This case follows a related incident in Poland, where four people were arrested in Germany for allegedly sabotaging a Starlink station in September near Ukraine’s border. Polish officials have attributed that sabotage attempt to Russian hybrid warfare efforts, with claims that Russian actors collaborated with organized crime groups in Germany.
Additionally, Lithuania reported a recent attempted arson targeting a company hosting Starlink communication hardware, which its prime minister also linked to Russian actions.
