Wednesday, July 9, 2025 - Three British men have been found guilty of committing an arson attack on Elon Musk's Starlink warehouse after being recruited by Russian terrorists online.
In March 2024, the men set fire to a warehouse, destroying
more than £100,000 worth of equipment, including vital satellite equipment
belonging to Elon Musk's Starlink communications company, which was
destined for Ukraine.
The warehouse attack in Leyton, east London, was
livestreamed over Facetime to the men's British recruiter who was reporting
back to the Russians. He set the video to music as he shared it with his
friends.
The men were then tasked to burn down an exclusive
restaurant and wine dealership in Mayfair and to kidnap the billionaire owner,
a Russian dissident who has driven lorries carrying aid to Ukraine.
Evgeny Chichvarkin told police he had made his money by
co-founding a mobile phone business in Russia before becoming an 'enemy of
the state' after speaking out against the regime.
Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Barrington Rose, 23, and Ugnius
Asmena, 20, denied aggravated arson but were convicted today after 21 hours and
55 minutes of jury deliberation.
The attack was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, 20, with Gatwick
airport cleaner Jake Reeves, 23, who had targeted the warehouse because it was
being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to
Ukraine.
They went on to plot more arson attacks in a restaurant and
wine shop in Mayfair and the kidnap of the owner, the wealth Russian dissident
Evgeny Chichvarkin.
Earl and Reeves had admitted aggravated arson on behalf of
the Wagner Group and were the first to be convicted of offences under the
National Security Act 2023, jurors heard.
A jury at London's Old Bailey court on Tuesday 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.
Ashton Evans, 20, and Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 23, denied two
counts of knowing about terrorist acts but failing to disclose the information.
Evans was convicted of one charge and cleared of a second, while Paulauskas was
acquitted of both charges - bursting into tears.
In recent years, London has accused Russia or its agents of being behind spy plots and sabotage missions in Britain and across Europe, with the British domestic spy chief saying Russian operatives were trying to cause "mayhem".
The Kremlin has denied the accusations, and its embassy in London has rejected any part in the warehouse fire, saying the British government repeatedly blames Russia for anything "bad" that happens in Britain.
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