Trial Unfolds for Six Men Linked to Arson Attack on Business Associated with Ukraine Aid, Tied to Wagner Group

On Wednesday, six individuals faced trial for an arson incident that prosecutors allege was executed on behalf of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, targeting a London business engaged in shipping goods to Ukraine.

The warehouse units that were set ablaze in March of last year were part of Oddisey, a company that facilitated the delivery of packages and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine, including satellite equipment from Elon Musk’s Starlink. Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The defendants—Paul English, 61, Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20—plead not guilty to charges of aggravated arson. Meanwhile, Dmitrijus Paulauskas, 23, and Ashton Evans, 20, deny any knowledge of terrorist activities but are accused of failing to report information about these acts.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny informed the Old Bailey court in London that the arson represented criminal actions conducted «at the behest of foreign influence.»

He indicated that the operation was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, who was «fully aware he was acting at the direction of the Wagner Group,» which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the UK.

Last October, Earl admitted to the charge of aggravated arson and also accepted a plea under the National Security Act (NSA) for preparing actions that endangered lives, intended to counter hostile actions from foreign states.

According to Penny, «It is evident that Dylan Earl expressed a willingness to undertake missions, with the Leyton arson being the first. It is clear that he understood he was acting against Ukrainian interests and for Russian ones.»

Additionally, a man named Jake Reeves, 23, pleaded guilty in November to aggravated arson and confessed to violating the NSA by receiving a material benefit from a foreign intelligence agency, essentially accepting funds from Wagner which were intended by Russian security services, as stated by Penny.

He further explained that Earl and Reeves were part of a plan to conduct arson attacks on the Hedonism wine shop and Hider restaurant in the affluent Mayfair area of London, with a combined worth exceeding 30 million pounds ($40.7 million).

Penny noted that the scheme also included the abduction of the owner, a prominent Russian dissident and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, who had personally transported aid trucks from the UK to Ukraine.

In messages presented to the court, Earl instructed that the target should be brought to him so that he could be «exiled to Russia to face imprisonment.»

In recent years, British officials have accused Russia or its agents of orchestrating various spy plots and sabotage operations both in the UK and across Europe. The head of the UK’s domestic intelligence service noted that Russian operatives were attempting to create «chaos.»

The Kremlin has refuted these allegations, with its London embassy dismissing any involvement in the warehouse fire, asserting that the British government continually blames Russia for anything negative that occurs in the UK.

Wagner was significantly involved in the initial phases of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine until its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led a brief mutiny against Russia’s defense infrastructure in 2023.

Penny stated that the jury would receive expert testimony affirming that the Wagner Group and its operations, which included acts of sabotage in Europe, are now under the direct control of the Russian government.

He informed the court that the six defendants may not have been aware of the broader political implications and could have been driven by greed relating to the warehouse fire, which resulted in an insurance claim estimated at over 1 million pounds ($1.36 million).

The jury was shown correspondences among the defendants, which Penny claimed demonstrated their involvement, alongside footage from surveillance cameras and their personal devices illustrating their journey to the warehouse and the initiation of the fire using gasoline.

The trial is expected to last up to five weeks and will continue.