More sabotage attacks in Bulgaria are possible, the head of the State Agency for National Security (DANS), Plamen Tonchev, told parliament. He was speaking at a hearing on the investigation into the deliberate arson attack on antennas near Sofia that carry the link to the US Starlink satellite system.
"Similar acts of sabotage are not ruled out in the future. Literally every day we identify people who are watching critical infrastructure in some way," Tonchev told Bulgarian National Radio. He said railway bridges and train stations have been watched.
Ukraine also uses Starlink for military purposes.
On the arson, Tonchev named some subjective factors: the site is being expanded, part of the fence had been removed, and the attackers got in more easily. He said these are elements of the investigation, which DANS is running with the interior ministry and the prosecutor's office.
He called for calm and unity so that the state and the EU can get through hard times. The prime minister, the defence minister and the interior minister have made the same call.
DANS now has fewer managers and more field officers, Tonchev said. He said the changes were planned and aim to make the agency more flexible, streamline its work, build up analytical and technical skills and add more field staff.
He believes the agency has enough people to work against Russian intelligence services. "Not a single employee has been dismissed or moved from the directorate whose job is to counter the Russian side," Tonchev said.