Poland blames Russia for sabotage at Starlink station used by Ukraine

A blaze at a Starlink station in Poland that engulfed its power system and backup generator was an act of sabotage aimed at disrupting internet services, including for Ukraine's military, a government minister says.

It came as Denmark's spy agency warned that Moscow was likely to intensify its hybrid warfare activity in Europe in the coming months.

Poland has been on heightened alert for acts of sabotage since Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in such incidents.

"The fire engulfed the power station and the generator; it is clear that this act of sabotage was deliberately designed to disable the station — effectively cutting off the internet connection … and disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian military," Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said.

He said the station in central Poland was now operating normally. Ukraine has not publicly commented on whether the fire had caused any disruptions on its side.

Mr Gawkowski said it had not been established who was responsible for the fire, but that "many signs suggest this aligns with Russia's new doctrine of attack".

Elon Musk activated Starlink services over Ukraine in 2022 after Kyiv pleaded for help in the first days following Russia's full-scale invasion. Poland has said previously it has been paying for Ukraine's Starlink subscription.

Despite Mr Musk's subsequent clashes with Ukrainian officials over his views on the war, Ukraine's military relies on tens of thousands of Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and some drone operations.

Russia may be 'desperate', says Denmark

Denmark's defence intelligence service has released a report on its threat assessment.

The defence intelligence service said Russia would carry out more frequent attacks against the West and NATO "with greater consequences for the countries targeted than in the past".

It added that there was "a low but growing risk" that Russia would launch a limited military attack against one or several NATO countries that border Russia.

Such attacks could include isolated strikes with long-range weapons like drones or missiles on infrastructure supporting Ukraine, or false-flag operations using Ukrainian-made drones, intelligence service chief Thomas Ahrenkiel said at a press conference.

He said Russia could also deploy a limited number of troops into a NATO border area, potentially under the pretext of protecting Russian minorities.

"The aim is not to take over the country, but to divide NATO," he said.

Last week a Russian frigate fired two flares towards a Danish military helicopter sent to photograph it in international waters off Denmark, with one narrowly missing the aircraft, according to the Danish military.

In a separate statement on Thursday, local time, the Danish Resilience Agency said it was likely that Russia would attempt to carry out destructive cyber attacks against Denmark and raised its threat level.

Hybrid warfare and sabotage on European soil gained renewed attention after Germany recently blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at the Leipzig/Halle Airport, prompting European Union members to call for new sanctions against Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in hybrid warfare, sabotage operations in NATO countries, or plotting any confrontation.