Lithuania suspects Russian sabotage after attempt to burn Starlink site in Vilnius

Lithuanian authorities suspect Russian sabotage after an attempt to set fire to SpaceX Starlink ground infrastructure in Vilnius on October 18, 2026, following similar attacks in Poland and Bulgaria.

No suspects had been detained as of October 19, 2026, Police Commissioner General Arūnas Paulauskas said, adding that the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau was conducting an intensive investigation.

The attack occurred at about 02:00 local time on October 18, 2026, in the Aukštieji Paneriai district, southwest of the Lithuanian capital. Employees extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived, preventing significant damage or disruption to Starlink services.

Attackers targeted antennas at Vilnius data center

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius confirmed that the site belongs to data center operator Delska, which leases room to SpaceX for Starlink ground infrastructure.

The facility reportedly houses nine satellite antennas. Attackers attempted to ignite antennas and a control unit, leaving behind incendiary liquids and containers holding between three and ten liters.

The @SpaceX Starlink ground station operating in Lithuania https://t.co/Fr7j3nrTLw

— Marius Skuodis (@Skuodis) April 10, 2022

National Crisis Management Center head Vilmantas Vitkauskas declared that the attack caused no interruption to Starlink connectivity, although a successful fire could have temporarily disrupted services. Other ground stations provide network redundancy.

Lithuanian authorities had warned Delska of potential attacks two days before the incident.

“We are treating this as sabotage,” Sinkevičius said. He had previously suggested that Russia was likely responsible, although investigators have not publicly established who organized the attack.

Similar Starlink attacks investigated in Poland and Bulgaria

On September 23, 2026, arsonists targeted a Starlink ground station in Wola Krobowska, Poland, damaging electrical infrastructure.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency said on October 16, 2026, that two Turkish nationals suspected of carrying out the attack had been detained in Germany under European arrest warrants. Investigators also identified a suspected accomplice who allegedly photographed the installation and transmitted reconnaissance material through Telegram. Prosecutors suspect that the attack was carried out on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.

In Bulgaria (likely on October 12, 2026, though the date is unconfirmed), an attack near Sofia damaged 11 of 17 Starlink antennas at a communications facility. Bulgarian authorities confirmed that an investigation was ongoing and said that they had identified suspects.

Ukraine’s reliance on Starlink raises sabotage concerns

Vitkauskas described the three incidents as part of a suspected Russian effort to disrupt Starlink, which is extensively used by Ukraine’s armed forces for battlefield communications and drone operations. However, no operational connection between the attacks has been publicly established.

The suspected sabotage campaign comes as Ukraine faces separate challenges to its satellite communications. Speed restrictions imposed on Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade service, overnight on October 13 to 14 disrupted Ukrainian drone operations, prompting some units to cancel missions. Connectivity has been at least partly restored, although questions remain over who ordered the restrictions.

The incidents also follow an August 2026 warning from Lithuania’s Defense Ministry that Moscow was considering attacks against critical infrastructure in the Baltic region.

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