Warsaw views fire at Starlink station in central Poland as sabotage

Warsaw considers a fire that broke out at a Starlink station in central Poland to be an act of sabotage, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Thursday.

"This act of sabotage was deliberately designed to disable the station ... disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian army," Gawkowski, who also serves as digital minister, told public broadcaster TVP.

He said the fire at the station belonging to Polish state-owned telecom company Exatel broke out late on Wednesday.

"There is much to suggest that we are dealing with an element of the next phase of hybrid warfare," he said.

The deputy premier said that the station was used to transmit internet traffic through Poland, including to neighboring Ukraine.

He also said there were "many indications" suggesting the incident "fits into this new Russian doctrine of attack."

Poland accuses Russia of 'hybrid' warfare

Poland and other EU and NATO member states have accused Russia of engaging in hybrid warfare, including acts of sabotage, against Ukraine's allies, since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Lying on the EU and NATO's eastern flank, Poland borders Ukraine, the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow ally Belarus. It is one of Kyiv's strongest supporters in Europe.

Warsaw also joined the new "Carpathian Eight" regional summit launched by Ukraine last Friday.

Earlier in September, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia plans to carry out "hybrid" drone and missile strikes against Ukraine's allies.

Late last year, Poland accused Russia of carrying out "state terrorism" over an act of sabotage on the Polish rail network.