Lithuania’s prime minister has accused Russia of likely involvement in an alleged attempt to set fire to a company storing Starlink communications equipment, warning of a widening threat from suspected sabotage operations across Europe.
Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the incident occurred shortly after midnight at a Lithuanian facility holding satellite antennas and a control unit. Authorities had warned the company of possible attacks and increased security, he said, adding that they thwarted the attempt.
Speaking to public broadcaster LRT RADIO, Sinkevičius said investigators had discovered incendiary liquids and containers with capacities ranging from three to 10 litres.
“The fact is that this was clearly an attempted act of sabotage or diversion, as we are seeing similar actions repeated across Europe,” he said.
He added that the incident appeared to form part of what he described as Russia’s “hybrid war”, a term used to describe hostile activity that can combine covert operations, cyberattacks, disinformation and other forms of pressure below the threshold of open military conflict.
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“It is likely that it is already clear who commissioned it — it is the Russian side,” Sinkevičius said, while acknowledging that investigators still needed to establish who ordered the alleged attack and how it was carried out.
The investigation has not yet publicly established attribution. Lithuanian authorities have confirmed that the incident is being investigated, but the available details do not independently establish Russian responsibility.
The prime minister has called a meeting of the National Security Commission to examine the alleged attempted arson, underscoring the seriousness with which Vilnius is treating the case.
Defence minister Robertas Kaunas said the incident had been brought under control and prevented, adding that an investigation was under way.
The alleged attack comes amid continuing European concerns about sabotage and other covert operations targeting infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine. Lithuania, a member of Nato and a staunch supporter of Kyiv, occupies a strategically sensitive position on the alliance’s eastern flank, bordering Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and Belarus.
Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has become an important communications tool for Ukraine during its war with Russia. Any deliberate attempt to damage equipment supporting satellite communications could therefore carry implications beyond the immediate security of a storage facility, although the intended use of the equipment in this case has not been established.
Separately, a drone entered Lithuanian airspace from Poland on the same night before crashing. Kaunas said police had recovered debris and cordoned off the area after receiving reports that fragments may have damaged a civilian car.
The two incidents have raised fresh questions about security in the Baltic region, but authorities have not established a connection between them.
For Lithuania, the immediate challenge is to determine who was responsible for the alleged arson attempt while protecting infrastructure against further incidents. Sinkevičius’s warning reflects growing fears among European governments that pressure linked to the war in Ukraine may increasingly be exerted through covert operations far from the front line.
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