Two masked intruders broke into a communications facility near Sofia, Bulgaria, and set fire to 11 of its 17 antennas used to communicate with Starlink satellites, Bulgarian National Television reported.
The Insider determined from satellite images that the fire occurred 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) from Sofia.
Bulgarian lawmaker Ivaylo Mirchev also reported the incident. He posted a video of the fire and said a similar incident occurred in Poland in September. According to Mirchev, Polish authorities have no doubt that Russia is behind the acts of sabotage.
“Clearly, these antennas were deliberately targeted, since they provide the main connection to the satellites,” Mirchev said.
There was no word on whether the damaged antennas were used to provide communications for Ukraine’s armed forces.
On October 14, Ukraine’s armed forces said SpaceX had restricted Starlink satellite communications for the Ukrainian military. The restrictions affected the military version of the service, called Starshield, which drone operators rely on. The Ukrainian military said the restrictions caused some drones to lose their connections midflight and some operations to fail.
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