The head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, said the attempted arson at premises in Vilnius leased by SpaceX for work involving Starlink equipment was an attempt by Russia to disrupt the satellite network and influence Ukraine’s military operations.
According to BNS, the incident occurred at the Delska data centre. Vitkauskas provided details of the incident. He said it happened at around 2 a.m. on Sunday. The fire was contained, and suspects are being sought. A pre-trial investigation has been launched into the incident.
The head of the National Crisis Management Centre noted that SpaceX leases the premises from a Lithuanian company and that the infrastructure located there is part of the Starlink network, which provides connectivity for the public, businesses and the military.
“As far as we know, this company was contacted a day or two ago and received some kind of warning. Of course, it is impossible to ensure complete security, but in this case it is necessary to remain vigilant and heed the recommendations, as they are directed not only at companies,” he said.
Vitkauskas linked the attempted arson to other incidents in Bulgaria and Poland, which he believes may be part of the same campaign.
“This whole story — what we saw today, as well as the recent events in Bulgaria in September and October and in Poland — these are all links in the same chain. This is an attempt by Russia to disrupt Starlink and thereby influence the success of Ukraine’s operations,” he said.