Dem don convict two men for Old Bailey for conspiracy to commit arson for property wey connect to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Di men na Roman Lavrynovych, 22-year-old Ukrainian builder, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27-year-old Ukrainian-born Romanian. Dem set fire to Toyota wey Prime Minister don own before, plus di entrance of flats where he used to live, and di entrance of house wey dem rent to his sister-in-law.
But di trial no reveal di true person wey direct di attack. Di handler, wey dem call EL Money or EL, na mystery. BBC investigation don find say EL na Evgeny Lyukshin, 23-year-old Russian diplomat wey train for information warfare. Lyukshin na son of senior Russian diplomat, and he dey close to high levels of power for Moscow.
EL recruit Lavrynovych for Telegram, for group wey dey find work for Ukrainians for London. He task am to do things from poster to graffiti to arson, offering money and Russian citizenship. Messages show EL glorify Putin and Russia, and incite attacks on conscription centres for Ukraine.
Di arson attack na part of bigger campaign of sabotage and provocation wey Russia dey run. EL create fake far-right group called Direct Action UK, wey dey promote hatred against Muslims and offer money for violence. Di group also lionise Tommy Robinson. Direct Action generate real-life attacks: six mosques and one Islamic school for London dem vandalise.
Anti-racist group Hope Not Hate report Direct Action to counter-terror police for February 2024, but dem no get response. Tell Mama, wey monitor anti-Muslim hate, also pass evidence but nothing happen. Met Police say dem dey investigate seven instances of criminal damage as anti-Muslim hate crimes, but no arrest don happen.
Before Direct Action, EL help create fake Islamic organisation called Takbir Foundation. Di foundation dey recruit Muslims to spray ‘sacred graffiti’, but real goal na to inflame far right. Dem pay non-Muslims to spray Islamic graffiti for Bristol, but di artists refuse.
EL also use Telegram to spread lies about di arson attack, claiming di three Ukrainian suspects na sex workers. Tommy Robinson take up di lie and post fake image of Starmer with suspects. Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dimitriev repost am.
Di pattern fit wave of Russian-backed sabotage wey don hit Europe, from explosions on railway lines to firebombs on planes. Russia dey recruit people as proxies, offering payment for violence and espionage. Ukrainians dey frequently targeted for recruitment.
Hope Not Hate identify Evgeny Lyukshin as member of Direct Action Telegram group. Dem find am for other channels like Radio Southport, wey Rybar create. Rybar na Russian state-controlled media organisation wey US accuse of seeking to sow discord. Lyukshin train for Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), where Rybar get ‘media school’. Di course dey focused on information warfare, taught by spies and Putin allies.
Ben Wallace, former defence secretary, say di evidence show Russia dey conduct deliberate escalation against British state. He say attack on property linked to Prime Minister no go come from low-level individual, but from very top. Cdr Helen Flanagan of Counter Terrorism Policing say dem no fit prove EL identity, but sources tell BBC say UK and Ukraine authorities privately conclude Russia dey behind di arson.
After BBC contact Lyukshin, di Radio Southport channel and four other channels wey Rybar create disappear. Di photo of Lyukshin with deputy foreign minister also take down.
