A fire broke out late on Wednesday at a satellite communications station in central Poland used by Starlink, and Poland’s deputy prime minister and digital affairs minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski, said on Thursday that it was an act of sabotage.
Speaking to public broadcaster TVP Info, Gawkowski said the attack was intentionally planned to knock the station out of service and cut internet access for several institutions, including the Ukrainian army. He added that the facility, located in the village of Wola Krobowska in the Grójec district of the Mazowieckie region, was still operational.
Polish Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, 13 December, 2024 Public domain/Klub Lewicy
A Key Link for the Region
The station is owned by the state-run telecommunications company Exatel and helps carry internet traffic through Poland, including to Ukraine. It is also used by SpaceX systems that deliver connectivity through Starlink terminals. Together with a similar facility near Kaunas in Lithuania, the Wola Krobowska station provides internet access to a large part of Central and Eastern Europe.
According to Ukrainian outlet Mezha, citing hromadske.ua, the property owner called emergency services to report that the antennas were on fire and the power generator had been damaged. The blaze mainly affected the power station, the distribution board and the generator. Firefighters put out the flames and secured the site, no one was hurt, and police then took over. Preliminary findings suggest unidentified individuals may have deliberately set fire to the electrical distribution panel.
NEW: 🇵🇱 A fire broke out at a Starlink ground station in Poland, in Wola Krobowska, Mazovia, with firefighters reportedly treating it as arson.
The fire damaged the station’s power supply infrastructure, while a power generator was also damaged. Police took over the scene, with… pic.twitter.com/IFnXVk2gMC
— GeoInsider (@InsiderGeo) September 24, 2026
Fingers Pointed at Moscow
Gawkowski said many signs indicate the incident matches a new Russian doctrine of attack and is part of the next phase of hybrid warfare. In a separate interview with TVN, he said “the modus operandi in this case is clearly Russian,” arguing that Moscow aims to paralyze critical infrastructure such as water, gas, electricity and the internet in order to spread panic. However, he also acknowledged to TVP that it was not yet possible to say for certain whether Russia was responsible.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the station’s equipment is working normally. He said there is no confirmation so far of direct Russian involvement, but that several indications point to a possible link with Russia’s new approach to attacks, and that final conclusions will come once the investigation is complete.
Officials Urge Caution
Not everyone in government was ready to call it sabotage. Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for the minister coordinating Poland’s special services, told TVN24 and Zero.pl that not every arson or disaster is sabotage, and that investigators are considering scenarios ranging from deliberate arson to an electrical short circuit. “It’s too early to talk about sabotage,” he said. Officers from the Internal Security Agency (ABW) were at the scene reviewing the information gathered so far, and the police Central Bureau of Investigation has also been notified.
Part of a Wider Pattern
Poland, a NATO and EU member on the alliance’s eastern flank, has accused Russia of sabotage several times since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and has become the main transit hub for Western military and humanitarian aid to Kyiv. Earlier this month, Tusk warned that Russia’s war plans include “hybrid” drone and missile strikes against Ukraine’s allies. Moscow has consistently denied involvement in such attacks.
