UK court convicts 3 men over arson attack authorities say was organized by Russian intelligence
Prosecutors said the March 20, 2024, attack was planned by agents of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence. The British government has deemed Wagner a terrorist organization.
The prosecution said Wagner used British intermediaries to recruit the men to target an industrial unit in Leyton, east London, where generators and StarLink satellite equipment bound for Ukraine were being stored. The StarLinks are frequently used by Ukraine's military in fending off Russia's invasion.
Authorities said the arson was part of a campaign of disruption across Europe that Western officials blame on Moscow and its proxies.
A jury at London's Central Criminal Court found Jakeem Rose, 23; Ugnius Asmena, 20; and Nii Mensah, 23 guilty of aggravated arson. A fourth man, Paul English, 61, was acquitted.
The fire caused around 1 million pounds ($1.35 million) worth of damage. Prosecutors said the attack was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, 21, and Jake Reeves, 23, who pleaded guilty to aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group before the trial started. They also pleaded guilty to offenses under the U.K.'s National Security Act 2023.
Two other men were on trial over the arson and related plots. One was found guilty Tuesday of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts, while the other was cleared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
18 minutes ago
- The National
Petition to repeal Online Safety Act reaches 340K signatures
On the UK Government website, it shares that the Online Safety Act was created to protect "children and adults online" by putting a "range of new duties on social media companies and search services." The changes from the act apply across the UK and include age checks on pornography websites, as well as other platforms like Reddit, X and Bluesky. The Act was passed into law on October 26, 2023, and was implemented on July 25, 2025, with platforms now requiring users to prove their age by ID verification. Well done to everyone who campaigned to ensure age verification for pornography was in the Online Safety Act! Today it comes into force and while no doubt there will be some who get around it, it means young kids in particular won't be stumbling on violent and harmful porn. — Jess Asato MP (@Jess4Lowestoft) July 25, 2025 The measures, as part of the Online Safety Act and set to be enforced by regulator Ofcom, require online platforms to have age checks – using facial age estimation or credit card checks. Since the act was implemented, a petition has been launched and has surpassed more than 340,000 signatures. Calls for the Online Safety Act to be repealed in viral petition Sharing why the petition was made, the creator behind it Alex Baynham, wrote: "We believe that the scope of the Online Safety act is far broader and restrictive than is necessary in a free society. "For instance, the definitions in Part 2 covers online hobby forums, which we think do not have the resource to comply with the act and so are shutting down instead. "We think that parliament should repeal the act and work towards producing proportionate legislation rather than risking clamping down on civil society talking about trains, football, video games or even hamsters because it can't deal with individual bad faith actors." At the time of writing, the petition had surpassed the needed 100,000 signatures for Parliament to consider debating the petition. On TikTok, the act has prompted a large amount of debate. Recommended Reading Content creator Thomas Pearson branded the act "pointless", sharing that he believes the act "is a fundamental betrayal of one of the core principles of British democracy; governing and policing by consent". Previously discussing the act, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News: "I have very high expectations of the change that children will experience. "And let me just say this to parents and children, you will experience a different internet really, for the first time in from today, moving forward than you've had in the past. And that is a big step forward."
The Herald Scotland
35 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Petition to repeal Online Safety Act reaches 340K signatures
The changes from the act apply across the UK and include age checks on pornography websites, as well as other platforms like Reddit, X and Bluesky. The Act was passed into law on October 26, 2023, and was implemented on July 25, 2025, with platforms now requiring users to prove their age by ID verification. Well done to everyone who campaigned to ensure age verification for pornography was in the Online Safety Act! Today it comes into force and while no doubt there will be some who get around it, it means young kids in particular won't be stumbling on violent and harmful porn. — Jess Asato MP (@Jess4Lowestoft) July 25, 2025 The measures, as part of the Online Safety Act and set to be enforced by regulator Ofcom, require online platforms to have age checks – using facial age estimation or credit card checks. Since the act was implemented, a petition has been launched and has surpassed more than 340,000 signatures. Calls for the Online Safety Act to be repealed in viral petition Sharing why the petition was made, the creator behind it Alex Baynham, wrote: "We believe that the scope of the Online Safety act is far broader and restrictive than is necessary in a free society. "For instance, the definitions in Part 2 covers online hobby forums, which we think do not have the resource to comply with the act and so are shutting down instead. "We think that Parliament should repeal the act and work towards producing proportionate legislation rather than risking clamping down on civil society talking about trains, football, video games or even hamsters because it can't deal with individual bad faith actors." At the time of writing, the petition had surpassed the needed 100,000 signatures for Parliament to consider debating the petition. On TikTok, the Act has received a large amount of debate. Recommended Reading Content creator Thomas Pearson branded the act "pointless", sharing that he believes the act "is a fundamental betrayal of one of the core principles of British democracy; governing and policing by consent." Previously discussing the Act, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News: "I have very high expectations of the change that children will experience. "And let me just say this to parents and children, you will experience a different internet really, for the first time in from today, moving forward than you've had in the past. And that is a big step forward."
Daily Mirror
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Putin 'assassination' near Benidorm as police probe body found floating in pool
Police in Spain are investigating the death of a Ukrainian who was found in a pool near Benidorm - cops reportedly believe Vladimir Putin's assassins may be responsible Authorities in Spain are looking into whether a top Ukrainian official was assassinated near the popular tourist spot of Benidorm. The death of 61-year-old Igor Hrushevsky comes after a defected Russian helicopter pilot was assassinated in the same gated residential estate nearly 18 months ago. Hrushevsky, a former employee of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs, was found lifeless , bleeding from one ear and face down in the pool by a Ukrainian neighbour at around 9:30pm on June 29. The passer-by pulled him from the water and performed CPR and called paramedics, but nothing could be done to save him. Civil Guard investigators initially said Hrushevsky's death was being treated as an accident. They said that 'no evidence' suggested it was a crime. Sources suggested Hrushevsky, who had been living at the La Cala Alta complex since February this year, had died from drowning. But overnight, leading Spanish news website El Espanol reported Spain's CNI intelligence agency, the equivalent of Britain's MI5 and MI6 combined, was now investigating whether killers working for Vladimir Putin could have been behind another targeted Costa Blanca assassination. The CNI never talks about ongoing operations, while the Civil Guard in Alicante is yet to respond. Citing sources in the intelligence services, El Espanol said agents are looking into whether there is a link between Hrushevsky's death and that of Maxim Kuzminov. Kuzminov, branded a traitor by Moscow after defecting to Ukraine in 2023. He was shot six times around 5pm after being chased from the second floor of a basement car park underneath the La Cala Alta large residential estate. No arrests have been made in connection with Kuzminov's killing. Spanish police concluded he could have been killed by hitmen working for Russian intelligence. 'As this is a matter concerning national security and the activities of an intelligence service, the members of the centre investigating this matter are doing so with the utmost discretion, independently of any investigation that may be carried out by the Civil Guard,' El Espanol said. 'A discovery of this nature would prove that both crimes were committed in the same way, by professional hitmen working for organised crime, but carrying out a contract paid for by the Russian intelligence services.' A local living in the apartment complex said it was 'clear' Hrushevsky, whom reports say was once the head of the organised crime department in the central Cherkasy and Kirovohrad regions, 'didn't drown'. Identified only as 'Blanca', the resident said 'the water only comes up to my neck and I'm a short person'. Regarding Kuzminov's killing, a car thought to have been driven by a getaway driver was later found burnt out in nearby El Campello. He had been using a false identity which initially led investigators to believe he was a 33-year-old Ukrainian national.. Spanish press said Kuzminov's undoing could have been a call to an ex-girlfriend inviting her to Alicante, a favourite with Russians and Ukrainians who have made their homes on the Costa Blanca. Putin placed Kuzminov on his most-wanted list after he was paid a reported £400,000 to steal a Mi-8 armoured Russian military chopper in a major propaganda coup for Ukraine. Two crew members were killed after landing.
