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Novaya Gazeta Europe
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
Three British men found guilty of Wagner-linked arson attack in London — Novaya Gazeta Europe
Three British men have been found guilty of committing an arson attack on behalf of the Russian Wagner Group on a warehouse in London being used to supply humanitarian aid and satellite to Ukraine, BBC News reported on Tuesday. Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, and Nii Mensah, 23, were all found guilty on Tuesday at the Old Bailey court in London of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life. The attack, which caused around £1 million (€860,000) in damages in March 2024, was orchestrated by two other men, Dylan Earl, 20, and Jake Reeves, 23, who had already admitted to committing aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries. The men are the first to be convicted under the UK's National Security Act 2023 for such foreign-directed hostile activity. According to The Guardian, the court heard that Earl had told a Wagner Group operative he met on Telegram he wanted to carry out further 'missions' for the mercenaries following the warehouse fire. Further plots, the BBC reported, involved additional arson attacks on a west London restaurant and wine shop owned by Yevgeny Chichvarkin, a multi-millionaire and Russian dissident who was named a 'foreign agent' by Russia's Justice Ministry in June 2022, and a plot to abduct him. 'This case is a clear example of an organisation linked to the Russian state using 'proxies', in this case British men, to carry out very serious criminal activity in this country on their behalf,' Commander Dominic Murphy, head of London's Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, said on Tuesday. 'Seemingly motivated by the promise of money, they were prepared to commit criminal acts on behalf of Russia,' he said. 'I hope these convictions send a strong warning of the very serious consequences of committing offences on behalf of a foreign country.' In late May, The Financial Times reported that British security officials were looking into whether Russia was behind three arson attacks on properties linked to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer perpetrated by two Ukrainian men and a Romanian national. In early June, Schemes, the investigative unit of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Ukrainian-language service, discovered that one of the men, Roman Lavrynovych, had posted in a job recruitment chat on Telegram that he was seeking employment. Such group chats are reportedly commonly used by Russian intelligence agencies to hire proxies, RFE/RL reported. In the last year, Moscow has been accused of carrying out numerous acts of sabotage and arson attacks on public buildings, transport networks and other infrastructure in several European countries, including Poland and Lithuania, as part of what experts believe is a hybrid warfare strategy designed to destabilise the West.
Al Jazeera
09-07-2025
- Al Jazeera
UK court convicts 3 men of arson in attack linked to Russia's Wagner Group
A jury in the United Kingdom has convicted three men of arson following an attack on an east London warehouse that was storing Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. Prosecutors had alleged that the attack on March 20, 2024, was planned by agents of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence. Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, and Nii Mensah, 23, were found guilty of aggravated arson on Tuesday at London's Old Bailey court. Jurors cleared a fourth man, Paul English, 61, who told police that while he was paid to drive the others, he knew nothing about the fire. Dylan Earl, 21, who was accused of orchestrating the attack, and Jake Reeves, 23, had already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and offences under the UK's National Security Act 2023. Prosecutors 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. Authorities cast the arson, which caused about 1 million pounds ($1.35m) of damage, as part of a campaign of disruption across Europe that Western officials blame on Moscow and its proxies. Ukraine's military frequently uses Starlink in its effort to fend off Russia's invasion. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of Counter Terrorism Command at London's Metropolitan Police, said the case was a 'clear example of an organisation linked to the Russian state using 'proxies', in this case British men, to carry out very serious criminal activity in this country'. He said Earl and Reeves 'willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state,' adding that it was 'only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured or worse'. Earl also admitted to plotting to set fire to a wine shop and a restaurant in the upmarket London neighbourhood of Mayfair, as well as plans to kidnap their owner, Evgeny Chichvarkin. Chichvarkin, an exiled Russian tycoon who has been vocal in his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, told the court in a written statement that he is considered 'a key enemy of the Russian state and received daily death threats'. Two other men were on trial in connection with the arson and related plots. Ashton Evans, 20, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot but cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson. After Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 23, was cleared of both, he burst into tears and nodded towards the jury. Jurors were shown evidence from security cameras and of the arson Mensah filmed on his phone, along with a message he sent Earl later saying: 'Bro lol it's on the news.' They were also shown hundreds of messages among the men and between Earl and a Russian recruiter. Earl was the first person to be charged under the National Security Act, which created new measures to combat espionage, political interference and benefitting from foreign intelligence services. Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said the convicted defendants would be sentenced in autumn. Founded in 2014, the Wagner Group has become Russia's largest and most notorious private military company, with operations around the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, South America and Ukraine. In 2022, Wagner enlisted 50,000 Russian prisoners to fight on the front lines of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, of which some 20,000 were killed in the months-long battle for control of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, the group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said at the time. In June 2023, Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed north of Moscow shortly after he led Wagner troops who crossed from Ukraine into the Russian border city of Rostov-on-Don, saying he would fight anyone who tried to stop them.
Scottish Sun
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Three men working for Wagner terrorist group convicted of arson attack on London warehouse linked to Ukraine
The case is the first to result in convictions of British criminals acting as proxies for the proscribed Wagner Group RUSSIAN PLOT Three men working for Wagner terrorist group convicted of arson attack on London warehouse linked to Ukraine Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THREE MEN working for the Wagner Russian terrorist group were yesterday convicted of an arson attack on a warehouse linked to Ukraine. The trio caused £1 million worth of damage to an industrial unit in Leyton, East London, destroying £100,000 worth of satellite communication equipment destined for Ukraine on March 20 last year. An Old Bailey jury yesterday convicted gang members Nii Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life. Mensah, of Thornton Heath, South London, livestreamed the warehouse blaze to Earl after he and Rose, from Croydon, set fire to the building as Asmena waited in a car. The case is the first to result in convictions of British criminals acting as proxies for the proscribed Wagner Group. Drug dealer Dylan Earl, 20, and Gatwick Airport cleaner Jake Reeves, 23, orchestrated the plot on behalf of the Russian Wagner group of mercenaries. They planned further arson attacks on a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair and the kidnap of the owner, wealthy Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin. They are the first defendants to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act 2023, designed to thwart attacks in the UK by hostile foreign states. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb adjourned sentencing until a date to be fixed in the autumn. Moment flames engulf car outside Keir Starmer's home as man arrested over 'arson' attack on TWO properties linked to PM
The Sun
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Three men working for Wagner terrorist group convicted of arson attack on London warehouse linked to Ukraine
THREE MEN working for the Wagner Russian terrorist group were yesterday convicted of an arson attack on a warehouse linked to Ukraine. The trio caused £1 million worth of damage to an industrial unit in Leyton, East London, destroying £100,000 worth of satellite communication equipment destined for Ukraine on March 20 last year. An Old Bailey jury yesterday convicted gang members Nii Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life. Mensah, of Thornton Heath, South London, livestreamed the warehouse blaze to Earl after he and Rose, from Croydon, set fire to the building as Asmena waited in a car. The case is the first to result in convictions of British criminals acting as proxies for the proscribed Wagner Group. Drug dealer Dylan Earl, 20, and Gatwick Airport cleaner Jake Reeves, 23, orchestrated the plot on behalf of the Russian Wagner group of mercenaries. They planned further arson attacks on a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair and the kidnap of the owner, wealthy Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin. They are the first defendants to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act 2023, designed to thwart attacks in the UK by hostile foreign states. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb adjourned sentencing until a date to be fixed in the autumn. Moment flames engulf car outside Keir Starmer's home as man arrested over 'arson' attack on TWO properties linked to PM 1
08-07-2025
UK court convicts 3 men over arson attack authorities say was organized by Russian intelligence
LONDON -- A British jury convicted three men on Tuesday of arson in an attack on an east London warehouse that was storing equipment destined for Ukraine. Authorities said Russian intelligence was behind the plot. 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. English told police that while he was paid to drive the others, he knew nothing about the fire. 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. Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, head of Counter Terrorism Command at London's Metropolitan Police, said the case was a 'clear example of an organization linked to the Russian state using 'proxies', in this case British men, to carry out very serious criminal activity in this country." He said Earl and Reeves 'willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state,' adding that it was 'only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured or worse.' Earl also admitted to plotting to set fire to a wine shop and a restaurant in the upmarket London neighborhood of Mayfair as well as plans to kidnap their owner, Evgeny Chichvarkin. Chichvarkin, an exiled Russian tycoon who has been vocal in his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, told the court in a written statement that he is considered "a key enemy of the Russian state and received daily death threats.' Two other men were on trial in connection with the arson and related plots. Ashton Evans, 20, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot but cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson. Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 23, was cleared of both. Jurors were shown evidence from CCTV cameras and of the arson Mensah filmed on his phone, along with a message he sent Earl later saying: 'Bro lol it's on the news.' They were also shown hundreds of messages among the men and between Earl and a Russian recruiter. Earl was the first person to be charged under the National Security Act, which created new measures to combat espionage, political interference and benefiting from foreign intelligence services. Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said the convicted defendants would be sentenced in the fall.
