Lithuania Names Two Germany-Based Suspects in Starlink Arson Terrorism Case

Lithuanian prosecutors have named two Germany-based dual nationals as suspects in a terrorism investigation over an October 18 fire at a Starlink ground facility in Vilnius. The men, one Turkish-German and the other Serbian-German, are being held in Germany under European Arrest Warrants issued by Bulgaria for an analogous offense.

The joint police and prosecutor release says the fire targeted ground satellite infrastructure inside a private company’s property and created a risk of severe consequences. LRT reported from the law-enforcement briefing that a guard contained the blaze before it destroyed the equipment, and that the Starlink system continued operating.

Authorities say the two men entered Lithuania the day before the fire and left after it. On October 27, a Vilnius prosecutor formally recognized them as suspects under provisions covering the creation and activity of an organized terrorist group, complicity in such a group, travel for terrorist purposes and a terrorist act capable of serious consequences.

Lithuanian police allege direct links between the Vilnius fire and a similar attack in Bulgaria, and say the same two men are suspected in both countries. They describe the Polish case as connected to the same network but involving different perpetrators. The Bulgarian investigation, not the Lithuanian case, produced the warrants under which the men are now detained.

Prosecutors told LRT they suspect possible ties to Russia, but the motive remains unresolved and the investigation is at an early stage. Reuters reported that Moscow has called accusations connecting it to European sabotage baseless. No public evidence establishing Russian direction of this attack was presented in the materials reviewed by Spy Register.

The authorities have not published the suspects’ names, and the official release and current reporting reviewed for this article carry no response from the men or their lawyers. LRT says any move to transfer them to Lithuania will be addressed later. The charges are allegations and have not been tested at trial.