Release date
A British judge on Friday sentenced five men for their roles in a London arson attack. Authorities claim the arson attack was masterminded by Russian intelligence as part of a broader campaign of sabotage and chaos.
The sentence was seven to 17 years in prison.
The men were involved in a plot in March 2024 to set fire to a warehouse in east London that was storing humanitarian aid and Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine.
British prosecutors said the arson was organized on behalf of the Wagner militia, which has close ties to the Russian state, and was likely linked to a separate arson attack on a warehouse in Spain.
Another man was found guilty of failing to disclose information about a London restaurant arson plot.
The fire is one of at least 25 Russian-linked arson or explosion plots across Europe that the Associated Press has documented since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Prosecutor Duncan Penny said: “This crime was part of a series of sabotage operations across Europe.”
Mr Penney said the actions of Briton Dylan Earle, who orchestrated the arson, amounted to “ongoing acts of terrorism and sabotage on British soil in support of a foreign power, the Russian Federation, and its war of aggression against Ukraine”.
The sentence is the first imposed by a British court for breaching the National Security Act, introduced in 2023 to combat foreign threats such as espionage and sabotage.
Additional sources of information • AP