Lithuania to Boost Security at Critical Infrastructure Sites Following Attempted Starlink Sabotage

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured), at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Oct. 5, 2026. Annegret Hilse/Reuters

Lithuania will boost its security around critical infrastructure following an attempted arson attack at a Starlink facility outside the capital, Vilnius, the country’s prime minister has said.

Prime ⁠Minister ​Mindaugas Sinkevicius said on Monday that his government and security officials met to discuss the Starlink incident.

“We agreed to increase the level of preparedness ​at critical ​infrastructure ⁠objects which are important to the country.... ​We will devote a ​larger ⁠number of forces and more attention to the objects,” Sinkevicius said ​on Oct. 19.

On Oct. 18, Lithuanian authorities alleged that an attempted arson attack at a Starlink base station ​on the outskirts of Vilnius was an act of sabotage linked to Russia, aimed at undermining Ukrainian military activity.

Ukraine uses Starlink terminals for battlefield communications, including to conduct strikes on Russian targets within Ukraine. It also uses Starlink receivers in its interceptor drones as part of their guidance systems to defend against Russian drone attacks.

Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre, said that the fire, discovered at 2 a.m. local time, had been quickly extinguished. There was only minor property damage and no disruption to communications services.

Vitkauskas said it was not a routine arson attack, “but an act of sabotage,” linked to earlier attacks against Starlink in Bulgaria and Poland.

“They are part of Russian attempts to disrupt Starlink and influence ​the success of Ukrainian operations,” he told reporters. “Ukraine is the target.”

Moscow has rejected that it is involved in the Starlink sabotage incidents, calling the accusations baseless and a result of anti-Russian hysteria.

Attacks in Bulgaria, Poland

Bulgarian authorities said Starlink antennas were set on fire at the Plana teleport, near the village of Plana, south of Sofia, on the night of Oct. 9.

The Bulgarian Telegraph Agency on Oct. 19 quoted the prosecutor’s office as saying that three antennas were burnt to the ground, two were partially burnt, and another two were damaged.

Two suspects who are German citizens have been charged in absentia for the arson, with the Sofia City Court authorizing the issuance of European Arrest Warrants for their detention.

A fire at a Starlink station in central Poland engulfed its power system and backup generator on Sept. 23, in what Polish authorities said was an act of sabotage committed by Russia.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Sept. 24 that the attack was “deliberately designed to disable the station—effectively cutting off the internet ​connection ... and disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian military.”

Gawkowski said it had not been established who ​was responsible for the fire, but that “many signs suggest this aligns with Russia’s new ‌doctrine ⁠of attack.”

Russia has repeatedly rejected being involved in acts of sabotage or other forms of hybrid warfare.

Reuters contributed to this report.