A British jury has convicted three men for their involvement in an arson attack on a London warehouse that stored equipment destined for Ukraine. Prosecutors assert the plot was orchestrated by operatives linked to the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary company.
The verdict, issued on July 8, highlights what Western intelligence officials describe as a clandestine campaign by Russian intelligence to recruit individuals, often unknowingly, to carry out sabotage and surveillance operations.
Arson at Ukraine-Bound Warehouse
The warehouse in East London was set on fire in March 2024 and contained vital supplies for Ukraine, including generators and StarLink satellite equipment, which is crucial for Ukrainian forces on the front lines. The convicted men are Nii Mensah (23), Jakeem Rose (23), and Ugnius Asmena (20), found guilty of aggravated arson.
Prosecutors stated that these three were recruited by Dylan Earl (20) and Jake Reeves (23), who had previously pleaded guilty to related charges. Earl and Reeves were reportedly hired for the arson attack by operatives from the Wagner Group. Investigators revealed that Earl initiated contact with Russian intelligence operatives through a Telegram messaging channel used by Wagner, offering to undertake various tasks. While Earl and Reeves allegedly recruited Mensah, Rose, and Asmena for the attack, the latter three were reportedly unaware they were working on behalf of Wagner.
Wagner’s Evolving Role and Further Plots
The Wagner Group’s prominence has diminished since the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023, two months after his aborted mutiny against the Kremlin. Many of its units have since been absorbed by Russia’s Defense Ministry and other security agencies, though some commercial entities linked to Prigozhin or Wagner reportedly remain active in Africa and elsewhere.
Furthermore, Earl and Reeves also pleaded guilty to charges connected to a separate plot to kidnap Yevgeny Chichvarkin, a Russian dissident and vocal Kremlin critic, and to set fire to his acclaimed restaurant in London’s Mayfair district. Chichvarkin, a former Russian mobile phone company owner, fled to Britain in 2009 after facing criminal investigations in Russia.
