A series of targeted arson attacks against properties linked to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been traced to a Russian-directed sabotage network. The incidents occurred over several days in May 2025 in north London.
Three men were convicted of conspiracy to commit arson at London’s Old Bailey court. The case exposed a recruitment pipeline operating through the encrypted platform Telegram, where a handler using the alias “El Money” allegedly directed the operatives.
The convicted individuals are Roman Lavrynovych, a 22-year-old Ukrainian national; Petro Pochynok, a 35-year-old Ukrainian national; and Stanislav Carpiuc, a 27-year-old Romanian citizen of Ukrainian descent.
The targets were selected specifically for their connection to the sitting Prime Minister. The Kremlin, through spokesman Dmitry Peskov, dismissed the allegations as “ludicrous” on May 26, 2025. A subsequent investigation identified the plot as part of a broader Russian hybrid warfare campaign against European nations supporting Ukraine.
Prosecutors secured convictions for the conspiracy itself, marking a rare instance where alleged Russian sabotage has been successfully prosecuted through the criminal justice system.