UNIPA News(LONDON) — Two men have been convicted at the Old Bailey for carrying out a series of coordinated arson attacks targeting a vehicle and residential properties linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Investigative findings indicate the operation was orchestrated remotely via social media by a Russian-speaking handler as part of a wider hostile state campaign.
The incidents, which took place over three nights in May 2025 across North London, resulted in convictions for conspiracy to damage property by fire, while a third individual connected to the case was acquitted.
Central Criminal Court Verdicts and Incidents
Following a trial at the Central Criminal Court, a jury found Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, guilty of conspiracy to commit arson. Lavrynovych was additionally convicted on two counts of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. A third man, Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared of all charges.
Official case records detail three deliberate fires set in residential areas:
- May 8, 2025: A Toyota RAV4 SUV, previously owned by Starmer, was set on fire in Kentish Town, North London.
- May 11, 2025: An arson attack targeted a residential property in Islington managed by a company where Starmer previously served as a director.
- May 12, 2025: A third fire was deliberately set at the front door of Starmer’s constituency home in Kentish Town while occupants were inside the property.
Digital Recruitment via Telegram and Handler Network
Evidence presented by prosecutors established that the perpetrators were recruited through a Russian-language employment group on the Telegram messaging application. The operations were directed by a remote handler using the pseudonym “EL” (referred to in court testimonies as “EL Money”).
The handler initially assigned low-level tasks, including infrastructure vandalism and distributing targeted posters, before escalating instructions to explicit acts of arson. The court heard that Lavrynovych was promised a payment of £3,000 in cryptocurrency to execute the fires, record video evidence of the blazes, and publicize the footage online to draw widespread public attention.
Following the final attack on the Prime Minister’s residence, the handler transmitted a message stating:
“Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you the money you need to leave the city.”
Subsequent investigations identified “EL” as Evgeny Lyukshin, a 23-year-old Russian national trained in specialized information operations and the son of a high-ranking state official. Digital communication channels used by Lyukshin to disseminate misleading narratives regarding the motives of the fires were deactivated shortly after investigators attempted contact.
Hybrid Warfare Strategy and Social Polarization
Intelligence and counter-terrorism findings suggest the arson campaign was part of an extensive, state-directed campaign designed to undermine public security and incite domestic division within the United Kingdom.
The operation relied on a network of fraudulent online entities managed by foreign state operatives. These included conflicting fabricated groups, such as the far-right channel “Direct Action UK” and a fraudulent Islamist entity named the “Takbir Foundation.”
The channels initially attempted to recruit local proxies under religious extremist narratives before pivoting to aggressive anti-Islam rhetoric to provoke domestic unrest. The fabricated content and false narratives surrounding the fires were subsequently amplified by far-right activists within the UK.
While counter-terrorism officials noted that the strict evidentiary thresholds required to formally charge the handler or directly attribute the plot to a sovereign state in a criminal court had not been fully met, security sources in London and Kyiv have privately concluded that the operation was coordinated by Russian intelligence services. The Russian Embassy has formally denied any connection to unlawful activity.
