Lithuanian law enforcement authorities have linked arson attacks targeting Starlink satellite equipment in Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Poland. Investigators believe the same two men carried out the attacks in Lithuania and Bulgaria, while the perpetrators in Poland were connected to them, Lithuanian police said on Oct. 29. Authorities suspect the detainees of participating in an organized terrorist group and are investigating possible links to Russia.
The suspects are two men in their early 20s who live in Germany. One holds German and Turkish citizenship, while the other holds German and Serbian citizenship. They arrived in Lithuania shortly before the arson attack, which took place overnight into Oct. 18, and left the country afterward. According to local broadcaster LRT, Lithuanian police deputy chief Saulius Briginas said the suspects had no ties to Lithuania and traveled there specifically to carry out the attack.
Both men were detained in Duisburg, Germany, on Oct. 23 under European arrest warrants issued by Bulgaria in connection with an earlier arson attack on Starlink equipment near Sofia. Bulgarian news agency BTA previously reported that the suspects are 19-year-olds Zeka Islam and Tirpan Beytulla. Bulgarian authorities accuse them of setting fire to the Plana satellite communications station on Oct. 9. Three antennas were completely destroyed and five others were damaged.
Different perpetrators carried out the Sept. 23 attack in Poland, but Lithuanian police say they were connected to the suspects in the incidents in Lithuania and Bulgaria. At least four people have been detained in Poland in connection with the arson investigation.
On Oct. 27, Lithuanian prosecutors formally named Islam and Beytulla as suspects in a case involving the creation of and participation in a terrorist group, entering the country for terrorist purposes, and carrying out a terrorist attack that could have caused serious consequences. Prosecutor Nerijus Puškorius said creating or participating in a terrorist group alone carries a prison sentence of five to 15 years. A decision on whether the two men will be extradited to Lithuania has not yet been made.
During the attack in Vilnius, a fire broke out on the grounds of the Delska data center, but it was quickly extinguished by a security guard. The Starlink equipment was not damaged and service was not interrupted. The Insider previously reported that U.S. company SpaceX rents premises from the Lithuanian operator and that infrastructure at the site supports nine satellite antennas whose communications are used in part by Ukraine.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius had previously described the attack as being part of Russia’s hybrid warfare operations, and investigators have also said they are examining possible ties between the suspects and Russia. Briginas said the series of attacks may have been intended to disrupt European Starlink infrastructure in a way that could affect communications in Ukraine. The investigation is continuing, however, and authorities have not yet established the ultimate motive of the attack.
As was previously reported by Der Spiegel, suspects detained in connection with the Starlink arson in Poland have been linked to the Turkish criminal group Daltons. According to the German outlet, the group’s suspected leader, Beratcan Gökdemir, was detained in Russia in 2024 but was later released by Russian authorities and placed under their protection. On Oct. 28, 85 suspected members of the Daltons gang were reportedly detained in Turkey.
