Russia was behind arson attacks targeting PM, BBC reveals

Key Points:

• Roman Lavrynovych, a 22-year-old Ukrainian builder, was arrested for setting fire to property linked to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, acting under orders from an anonymous handler known as "EL," who offered payment and Russian citizenship for further attacks.
• Investigations reveal EL is likely Evgeny Lyukshin, a 23-year-old Russian diplomat-in-training connected to high-level Kremlin officials, who orchestrated a broader Russian state-backed campaign of sabotage and disinformation targeting the UK through fake far-right and Muslim groups on social media.
• These fake groups, such as Direct Action UK and the Takbir Foundation, were used to incite vandalism, Islamophobic attacks, and social division in the UK, paying individuals to carry out criminal acts while spreading propaganda glorifying Putin and denigrating Ukrainians.
• Despite evidence pointing to Russian state involvement, UK police have not publicly confirmed EL's identity or state backing, though security experts and Ukrainian authorities privately attribute the sabotage campaign to Russia as part of a wider hybrid warfare strategy.
• Following media inquiries, several propaganda channels linked to Lyukshin and the Russian disinformation network were taken offline, and incriminating online content was removed, highlighting efforts to obscure Russian state involvement in these covert operations.