A British jury on Monday found Roman Lavrynovych, 22, a Ukrainian national, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Ukrainian-born Romanian national, guilty of committing arson while being reckless to human life in a spree targeting property linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
A third man charged in the case, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted. All three defendants had denied working together during the trial, according to The New York Times and BBC reporting cited by United Press International.
The conviction follows a series of arson attacks that took place over five days in May 2025. Prosecutors said the men deliberately set fire to a vehicle and two houses — properties that were either owned by Starmer or had been used by him previously.
During the trial, Lavrynovych said he was recruited online through the messaging platform Telegram by a Russian-speaking user going by the handle “El Money.” He testified that he had no knowledge of who Starmer was and that he agreed to carry out the fires simply because he “wanted some additional money,” the BBC reported.
The same Telegram account also instructed Lavrynovych to spray-paint anti-Muslim slogans on mosques in London and to put up advertisements for Direct Action U.K., a far-right group, according to The New York Times.
The case highlighted the use of encrypted messaging apps to recruit individuals for acts of political violence and vandalism directed at senior British political figures.