Men jailed over arson attack for Russia on Ukrainian business in London

Six men have been jailed for their parts in a Russian-ordered arson attack on a London warehouse providing aid to Ukraine.

The fire at industrial units in Leyton, east London, on 20 March 2024 caused £1.3m in damage.

Ringleader Dylan Earl was recruited by the Wagner Group, a mercenary organisation that acts on behalf of the Russian state and is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison plus a further six years on extended licence.

Before his arrest, he was also plotting to kidnap a wealthy Russian dissident.

Earl, 21, from Leicestershire, admitted a National Security Act offence, along with Jake Reeves, 24, from Croydon, who was given 12 years in prison plus one year on extended licence.

Reeves helped Earl recruit a group of men to carry out the arson. The pair are the first to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act 2023.

Of the other four men sentenced:

• Nii Mensah, 23, from Thorton Heath, who streamed the attack, was jailed for nine years
• Ashton Evans, 20, from South Wales, was jailed for nine years for failing to tell police what he knew about a planned kidnapping.
• Jakeem Rose, 23, from Croydon, who set the buildings alight, was jailed for eight years and 10 months
• Ugnius Asmena, 21, of no fixed address, who arranged the getaway car and was there on the night, was jailed for seven years.

All four each received a further year on extended licence.

Earl was recruited by a Wagner operative on Telegram where he told his handler he was keen to carry out a series of "missions", of which Leyton would be the first, the court previously heard.

He then brought in other men to carry out the arson attack.

The Ukrainian-owned warehouse they targeted had been used to send goods to Ukraine, including Starlink satellite terminals, and it required eight fire crews with 60 firefighters to get the blaze under control.

Earl was supposed to receive £9,000 for his role but was paid less because he carried out the plan early without his handler's sign-off.

On Friday, Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described the case as a "planned campaign of terrorism and sabotage" in the interests of the Russian state.

After the warehouse attack, Earl set the group's sights on arson attacks on a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair and the kidnap of the owner, wealthy Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin.

But before he could carry it out, he was arrested in a B&Q car park in Leicestershire, and videos of the warehouse fire being started were found on his phone.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Policing, told the BBC Earl was "somebody working absolutely as an agent of a foreign state to sow unrest and commit crimes in this country".

He added Russia "present a very real threat to our national security" and it was not unusual now to see Russia contacting people online and then using them to conduct criminal activity on their behalf.

Security minister Dan Jarvis said the sentences sent a clear message that the UK would not tolerate hostile activity by foreign states.

"To those acting for a foreign state, as the head of MI5 has said, you are disposable and you will not receive your reward, just as these individuals found out," he warned.