The Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau (LKPB) has announced that it has identified two men suspected of attempting to set fire to ground-based Starlink satellite communications equipment in Vilnius. Both are already in custody in Germany under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Bulgaria in connection with a similar attack.
This was stated at a press conference by the deputy head of the Bureau, Saulius Briginas. According to the investigation, the suspects permanently reside in Germany and hold dual citizenship: one holds German and Turkish citizenship, the other German and Serbian. Both are around 20 years old (19 according to some sources). They have no ties to Lithuania: they arrived in the country on the eve of the crime and left immediately after the attempted arson. “This was not a spontaneous crime. They knew exactly where they were going and what they intended to do, and they prepared for it in advance,” Briginas said.
The incident occurred in the early hours of October 18 at around 2:30 a.m. on the premises of the Lithuanian company Delska in the Aukštieji Paneriai district of Vilnius, where the American company SpaceX operates and stores Starlink equipment. The attackers used flammable liquids and Molotov cocktails (including containers of up to 10 litres). The fire was quickly extinguished by a security guard before firefighters arrived. No serious damage was caused to the infrastructure, and the network’s operation was not disrupted. The company had been warned in advance about possible threats, and security measures had been strengthened.
Lithuanian authorities are treating the case as a terrorist act. The suspects have been charged with creating and operating an organized terrorist group, participating in it, entering the country for terrorist purposes, and committing a terrorist act that could have caused serious consequences. Investigators link the attack to similar incidents: the arson of Starlink antennas in Poland (September 23) and Bulgaria (October 9). Authorities in Lithuania, Poland, and Bulgaria regard these actions as part of Russia’s hybrid warfare aimed at undermining Ukraine’s capabilities, which actively uses Starlink. Moscow rejects such accusations.
The suspects were detained in Germany (in the Duisburg/Moers area) under the Bulgarian warrant. The question of their possible extradition to Lithuania will be decided at a later stage of the investigation. Other individuals have also been detained in Poland in connection with related cases.
