Poland says fire at Starlink station is sabotage as Denmark warns of rising Russian threat

ByAlys Davies and Paul Adams, Diplomatic correspondent, Reporting fromKyiv. 24 September 2026, 12: 16 BST.

Key points

• Putin introduced a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow at present controls regarding 20% of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea peninsula annexed in 2014.
• Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski remarked the fire in the Masovian Voivodeship province was deliberately designed to disable the station.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly remarked Moscow does not plan to attack Nato states.
• This person is in New York for the UN General Assembly, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure.
• The fire at the state-owned Polish satellite station broke out on Wednesday night in Wola Krobowska.

Meanwhile, a fire at a Starlink satellite station in central Poland was a deliberate "act of sabotage", a administration minister has stated.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski remarked the fire in the Masovian Voivodeship province was "deliberately designed to disable the station. Disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian army".

He informed Polish public broadcaster TVP Info an investigation was ongoing but "many indications suggest" the attack fits into a "new Russian doctrine of attack". The Kremlin has not commented.

Meanwhile, Denmark's intelligence service issued a new threat assessment saying it expects Russia to escalate hybrid warfare in the coming months.

It remarked an attack remained "highly unlikely" but cautioned of "a low but growing risk" that Russia could launch a limited military attack against Nato countries.

In recent weeks a number of European Nato members have stated Russia may be preparing attacks to test their commitment to supporting Ukraine. It moscow denies.

While France has ordered a plan to protect critical infrastructure and defence industry sites, earlier this month, Germany blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport.

Hybrid warfare or hybrid attacks are loose terms which tend to describe non-military methods designed to exert pressure and destabilise an adversary – for example cyberattacks, sabotage or misinformation.

Proxies are often applied to carry out the attacks and Russia always denies involvement, despite growing evidence to the contrary.

Europe targeted by spiralling campaign of sabotage – and Russia is the chief suspect.

Notably, the fire at the state-owned Polish satellite station broke out on Wednesday night in Wola Krobowska. It remains operational.

In practice, the deputy prime minister remarked it transmits internet traffic through Poland to countries including Ukraine, and uses SpaceX systems that provide connectivity via Starlink terminals.

Asked regarding the incident at a news conference with Bulgaria's leader on Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated he disliked "labelling something as sabotage versus an accident without 100% certainty, but it looks bad".

While Romania's defence ministry noted one drone crashed in its territory, additionally on Thursday, Moldova's president stated four Russian drones crossed into its airspace, with at least one exploding.

On Wednesday Poland additionally stated a Russian military helicopter briefly violated its airspace, forcing it to scramble fighter jets.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov remarked it was Europe speaking concerning preparing for war, adding: "If Europe attacks Russia, it will be a completely different war, and it will be very short."

Putin introduced a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow at present controls regarding 20% of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea peninsula annexed in 2014. Ukraine is now experiencing round-the-clock attacks and near constant alerts.

In Kharkiv, six individuals were killed and 12 others injured in a Russian strike on a farm in the village of Stara Hnylytsia, Ukraine's state emergency services stated.

It remarked they were agricultural workers sorting vegetables, with the head of the Kharkiv region adding that four were women.

In Kyiv, there were multiple explosions on Wednesday night as drones, ballistic and cruise missiles landed or were intercepted over the city.

Previously 24 hours, a bakery, a pharmaceutical plant and a jewellery workshop were all hit. Strikes on a number of data centres additionally caused internet disruptions in areas of the city.

Two individuals were killed and eight others injured overnight, emergency services stated. One was killed when fragments of a drone landed close to a maternity hospital.

In practice, the hospital's director remarked a woman provided birth to a baby boy in a shelter during that attack, adding: "Even on such a terrible night, life goes on."

As well as vessels employed by the military, russia's defence ministry remarked it had hit Ukrainian defence facilities, logistics and telecom centres.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This person is in New York for the UN General Assembly, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. But it is sometimes hard to distinguish between deliberate and accidental hits.

Attacks on power facilities, railways and data centres are all clearly part of a deliberate Russian strategy to create life as challenging as feasible for civilians far from the slow-moving front lines.

With its long-range attacks on oil refineries and postal warehouses, Ukraine is doing something similar: bringing the war home to ordinary Russians.

But Russia's attacks on Ukraine's cities have intensified in recent weeks. Jet-powered drones are now more common than their slower predecessors. It applied piston engines.

For context, the latest Russian drones fly high and fast, making them harder to shoot down. There's additionally less time for civilians to react.

Kyiv is racing to develop low-cost weapons that can counter them as the missiles and fighter jets it has to fight back are too expensive.

In New York, Zelensky remarked, "we need ballistic interceptors to protect lives" and called on the US to assist.

He remarked Putin needed to be ceased from continuing the war and "spreading this evil further", adding: "Putin is always looking for someone who can help him kill more, kill more people for every kilometre of land."

For context, the Ukrainian president's comments came as Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev headed to the US to meet Trump administration authorities, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Reuters noted, citing two sources.

Russia's Lavrov informed the UN Security Council on Wednesday there would be no pause in the war.

In short, poland says fire at Starlink station is sabotage as Denmark warns of is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.