Three men have been found guilty of carrying out an arson attack on a London warehouse linked to Ukraine, on behalf of the Russian mercenary group Wagner.
Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, and Nii Mensah, 23, were convicted at the Old Bailey of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life. The fire targeted a warehouse that supplied humanitarian aid and Starlink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
The attack, which caused around £1 million in damage, was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, 20, and Jake Reeves, 23, who had already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson on behalf of Wagner.
Paul English, 61, of Roehampton, was acquitted of any wrongdoing.
The Wagner group, a private military organisation acting on behalf of the Russian state, has been designated a terrorist group by the UK government.
Mensah, of Thornton Heath, and Rose, of Croydon, were captured on CCTV and on a livestream filmed by Mensah as they set fire to the warehouse, which housed Ukrainian-owned businesses. The video, streamed via FaceTime to Earl and Reeves, showed petrol being poured onto the unit doors and set alight.
Eight fire crews and 60 firefighters responded to the blaze at the Cromwell Industrial Estate in Leyton, shortly before midnight on 20 March 2024. A lorry driver nearby bravely tried but failed to extinguish the fire.
As they fled, Rose dropped a large knife, later found to carry his DNA. Mensah messaged Reeves afterwards, writing: "L9 (Rose’s nickname) left his Rambo at the scene."
David Cawthorne, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said: “It is clear this was a targeted attack, given the warehouse’s role in sending aid and supplies to Ukraine.”
During the trial, it emerged that Earl had told a Wagner contact on Telegram that he was eager to carry out a series of "missions", with the warehouse fire being the first. Other plans included arson attacks on a Mayfair restaurant and wine shop, and the kidnapping of their owner, Russian dissident and millionaire Evgeny Chichvarkin. Messages from Earl’s phone showed reconnaissance had been carried out and explosives discussed for these plots.
Chichvarkin, described as a “high-profile Russian dissident and refugee”, is known for his outspoken criticism of President Putin and the war in Ukraine. His Mayfair businesses employ 200 people and are valued at over £30 million.
Earl, from Elmesthorpe, Leicester, became the first person convicted under the UK’s 2023 National Security Act, introduced to combat hostile state activity.
A fifth man, Ashton Evans, of Newport, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts, though cleared over the warehouse attack. A sixth man, Dmitrijus Paulauskas, of Croydon, was acquitted of the same charge.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This case is a clear example of a Russian-linked organisation using British proxies to conduct serious crimes on their behalf. I hope these convictions send a strong warning about the consequences of committing offences on behalf of a foreign power.”