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Bulgarian authorities are investigating a reported arson attack at a Starlink satellite communications station near Sofia, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on October 14.
Ivaylo Mirchev, an opposition lawmaker from the Yes, Bulgaria party, revealed two days earlier that two masked men had set fire to 11 of the facility’s 17 antennas over the weekend. He published a video of the incident on Facebook and raised the case in Parliament, where he called for an explanation of the government’s response.
Radev described the investigation as “extremely intensive” and said Bulgarian authorities were working with partner services, without identifying suspects or discussing a possible motive.
Plamen Tonchev, head of Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security, said the site had been scheduled for expansion, and part of its perimeter fencing had been removed, potentially making it easier for intruders to enter.
The facility, identified as the Plana satellite communications station about 20 kilometers south of Sofia, provides service used by the Ukrainian military.
Starlink has become an important component of Ukraine’s battlefield communications, allowing military personnel to maintain connectivity and coordinate operations. Bulgarian authorities have not disclosed whether the damaged antennas were directly carrying military traffic or whether the fire disrupted Ukrainian operations.
The incident follows an arson attack on a Starlink station in Wola Krobowska, about 40 kilometers south of Warsaw, on September 23.
Two Turkish nationals were arrested in Germany in connection with that arson case, Polish officials said on October 12. A third was reportedly apprehended the next day.
Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence services, accused Russian intelligence services of organizing the attack, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk described it as an act of “hybrid warfare.”
Mirchev cited the Polish case as a parallel to the incident near Sofia. However, Bulgarian authorities have not publicly attributed the fire to Russia, and no evidence has established that the two attacks were coordinated.
The incidents have drawn attention to the vulnerability of ground infrastructure supporting a satellite network that has become strategically important to Ukraine during its conflict with Russia.
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