A UK court has found three men guilty over an arson attack against Ukraine-linked businesses, which British officials said were orded by the Wagner Group paramilitary.
The three men, aged in their early 20s, had pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson but were convicted by a jury on Tuesday at London’s Old Bailey court. A fourth man aged 61 was cleared of the charge.
The two ringleaders, also in their early 20s, pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and a charge under the National Security Act before the trial started.
Prosecutor Duncan Penny said earlier that one of the ringleaders was “knowingly acting at the behest of the Wagner Group,” which is banned in the UK as a terrorist organization, and “knew he was acting against Ukrainian, and for Russian interests.”
Arson targeted equipment bound for Ukraine
The arson attack was carried out on March 20, 2024.
It targeted a warehouse in east London where generators and Starlink satellite equipment bound for Ukraine were being stored.
The blaze caused around £1 million ($1.35 million/ €1.16 million) in damage.
Prosecutors said the attack was planned by agents of the Wagner Group who were acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence.
The Wagner Group was formed as a paramilitary by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a restaurateur and associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The group was implicated in human rights abuses in Ukraine, Syria and several African countries.
Prigozhin launched an ill-fated rebellion against Putin in 2023 and was killed in a plane explosion two months later. The Wagner Group was subsequently weakened and made subordinate to Russia’s armed forces.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
