Bulgaria investigates report Starlink antennas set on fire near Sofia

Bulgaria is investigating a report that several antennas used for communication with the Starlink satellite network were deliberately set on fire, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Wednesday. Speaking in parliament, Radev described the investigation as extremely intensive and said authorities were working with partner services, without confirming or denying the claim.

The report was first raised by opposition lawmaker Ivaylo Mirtchev, who said Monday that 11 telecommunications antennas linked to Starlink had been set on fire over the weekend at what he described as a secret facility near Sofia. In a Facebook post, the pro-European opposition MP said two masked men burned 11 of 17 SpaceX antennas used to connect to the Starlink satellites, without specifying where the information came from.

A spokesman for the Sofia prosecutor's office confirmed to AFP that an investigation was under way but said no one has been charged. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said tighter security measures would be introduced around similar facilities.

Ukraine uses the Starlink satellite system, controlled by SpaceX owner Elon Musk, for battlefield communications. The network has drawn security scrutiny in Europe: a fire broke out at a Starlink satellite communications station in central Poland in September, which the country's digital affairs minister called an act of sabotage.

German police have detained three men and a woman over the Polish blaze, which Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as an act of hybrid warfare. Separately, restrictions were placed on some Starlink Internet terminals overnight to Wednesday, a technology adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, affecting Kyiv's ability to defend against Russia's jet-powered drones.