Two German citizens suspected of arson at Starlink station in Bulgaria

The state-appointed lawyers for the suspects announced their intention to appeal the decision. Three days are allotted for the appeal.

According to the prosecution, Islam and Beitul entered Bulgaria on October 9 through the Kalotina border crossing with Serbia, stating that they arrived for tourism purposes. They spent only a few hours in the country before leaving for Serbia through the same crossing in a car with German license plates. According to German documents, both suspects were born in 2007. Their current place of residence is unknown.

As the Bulgarian agency BTA reports, citing the indictment materials, three satellite communication antennas were completely burned in the fire, two more were partially destroyed, and three sustained minor damage. If the suspects are found guilty, they face three to 12 years in prison.

The fire at the Starlink station near Sofia was previously reported by the opposition coalition "Democratic Bulgaria." According to their information, 11 out of 17 antennas at the secret facility were intentionally set on fire on October 9. These antennas provide communication with SpaceX and are used by Ukraine during the war against Russia.

Bulgarian opposition parties do not rule out sabotage and suggest that Russia may be involved. On October 14, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev confirmed the fact of the arson. The head of the Bulgarian National Security Agency, Plamen Tonchev, stated that, in his assessment, the fire was the result of sabotage. Bulgarian Minister of Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev announced increased security for such facilities, although responsibility for their safety formally lies with the owners.

A similar incident occurred in Poland on September 23, when a Starlink ground station near Warsaw was damaged by arson. According to Bild, the station temporarily ceased operations but was later restored. There were no casualties.

Polish authorities called the incident an attempt at sabotage. Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski stated that, although there is no direct evidence of Russian involvement, many signs correspond to Russia's new doctrine of conducting attacks.

On October 12, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that two Turkish citizens had been detained in Germany as part of the investigation into the Polish arson. He called the incident another act of hybrid warfare. The head of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Marcin Kierwiński, stated that the suspects would be charged with sabotage on behalf of a foreign state. Later, it became known that two more suspects were arrested in this case.

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