Three men were found guilty yesterday over an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London which British officials said had been ordered by Russia’s Wagner mercenary group and was the latest malign activity conducted on behalf of Moscow in Britain.
Ringleader Dylan Earl, 21, had already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson over the 2024 blaze, which targeted companies delivering satellite equipment from Elon Musk’s Starlink to Ukraine. Earl also became the first person convicted under the National Security Act when he admitted his role in a plot targeting a wine shop and restaurant in London’s upmarket Mayfair district, with plans to kidnap the owner, a high-profile critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A jury at London’s Old Bailey court convicted three other men – Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20 – of aggravated arson, though they had denied the charge. It cleared a fourth man, Paul English, 61.