On the night of October 18, perpetrators attempted to set fire to a Lithuanian company that houses a Starlink ground gateway station used to provide communications to Ukraine. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the site supports nine Starlink antennas used by Ukraine, that authorities had warned the firm of possible attacks and increased security, and that attackers brought incendiary liquids and containers (3-5‑liter jugs and a 10‑liter canister) to burn antennas and a control unit; the attempt failed and the situation is under investigation. Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas confirmed the incident and linked it to a pattern of sabotage across Europe described by officials as part of Russia’s hybrid war. This is the third strike on Starlink gateway infrastructure in 30 days: a September 23 attack in Wola Krobowska, Poland, and an October 10 arson at a closed facility near Sofia, Bulgaria. Arrests connected to the incidents include two Turkish nationals detained in Nürtingen on October 12 and two German nationals arrested in Bulgaria on October 15, with one theory implicating the Turkish crime group Daltons acting for Russian intelligence.
Ground gateway stations are technical bottlenecks in the Starlink system: user terminals transmit on Ku‑band to satellites, which forward traffic to gateway antennas that convert signals to fiber‑optic links into the Starlink network and the wider internet. Satellites can also relay traffic via laser links to other satellites to reach a gateway. Because these ground stations are essential nodes for routing Ukrainian communications, they have become high‑value targets, prompting intensified monitoring and protective measures across affected European states.
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