Masked Intruders Burn 11 Starlink Antennas Near Sofia
Bulgarian authorities are investigating the arson of 11 Starlink antennas near Sofia as security officials warn of ongoing surveillance of critical infrastructure.
Masked intruders broke into a communications facility near Sofia and set fire to 11 of 17 antennas used for Starlink satellite communications. Ivaylo Mirchev, a lawmaker and co-chairman of the opposition party Yes, Bulgaria, reported that the antennas were deliberately targeted because they provide the primary connection to the satellites. While Mirchev suggested Russian intelligence was responsible, he provided no evidence.
Plamen Tonchev, chairman of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), warned the National Assembly that similar acts of sabotage cannot be ruled out in the future. Tonchev reported that SANS daily identifies individuals conducting surveillance of critical infrastructure, including railway bridges and train stations. He asserted that the agency possesses the capabilities necessary to counter operations conducted by Russian intelligence services.
Bulgarian authorities have confirmed an investigation is underway and have tightened security at similar facilities. The incident occurred alongside a separate sabotage event at a Starlink station in central Poland, where German police detained four suspects. It remains unconfirmed if the damaged antennas in Bulgaria were directly connected to the Ukrainian military network, though some reports link the attack to recent Starlink outages in Ukraine.
