On a chilly March evening in 2024, a warehouse in Leyton, east London, erupted into flames. The warehouse, a lifeline for Ukraine as it stored humanitarian aid and Starlink satellite equipment, was the target of a meticulously planned arson attack. But this was no ordinary act of vandalism—it was the opening salvo in what British authorities have described as a campaign of terrorism and sabotage orchestrated at the behest of Russia’s notorious Wagner Group.
According to multiple reports, including those from Sky News, Reuters, The Guardian, and CNN, six young Britons were recruited and directed to carry out the attack, causing nearly £1 million in damage and sparking a transnational investigation that exposed the evolving face of modern espionage.
The ringleader, 21-year-old Dylan Earl, was sentenced at London’s Old Bailey to 17 years in prison, with an additional six years under supervision after his release. His co-conspirator, Jake Reeves (sometimes reported as Jake Rivz), aged 24, received 12 years behind bars plus a year of supervision. Both men pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and became the first individuals in Britain convicted under the new National Security Act 2023, legislation introduced in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to address threats that fall short of traditional espionage.
Three others—Nii Mensah, Jakeem Rose, and Ugnius Asmena—received sentences ranging from seven to nine years. Ashton Evans, 20, was sentenced to nine years for concealing information about terrorist activities related to a separate plot targeting a Mayfair restaurant and wine shop owned by Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin. Each defendant was also given additional time on licence after release, reflecting the gravity of their offenses.
The court heard that Earl and Reeves masterminded the attack from their bedrooms, communicating with Wagner operatives via the encrypted messaging app Telegram. Prosecutors described their actions as “deliberate and calculated criminality at the behest of foreign influence.” In one chilling exchange, Earl’s Wagner handler instructed him to watch the TV drama The Americans as a manual for undercover work, telling him, “The idea is like that. You need to organise partisan cells in the country and in Europe and think of a name for your movement. We’ll give you support… Watch this series. It will be your manual. You’ll have a source of funding through organising arsons.”
On the night of March 20, 2024, CCTV and traffic cameras tracked the group as they drove through south London in a Kia Picanto, stopping to fill a can with petrol. At the warehouse, Rose poured petrol onto the doors and set them alight, while Mensah filmed the attack and livestreamed it on FaceTime. The blaze was noticed by a lorry driver parked nearby, who bravely attempted to extinguish the flames. In their haste to flee, Rose dropped a Rambo knife, leaving behind crucial DNA evidence. The fire ultimately required more than 60 firefighters from eight units to bring under control.
Investigators later discovered that Earl had been in contact with his Wagner handler for weeks, expressing a willingness to undertake “missions” in Britain and beyond. The Leyton warehouse arson was just the first assignment. Ten days later, a similar attack took place in Madrid, Spain, and discussions were underway for further operations in the Czech Republic. Police searching Earl’s home found a video of the arson, extensive correspondence with Wagner, plans for new attacks, a Russian flag, over £20,000 in cash, and illegal drugs.
The prosecution painted a stark picture of the new reality facing Western security agencies. As CNN reported from the trial, Russia’s campaign has shifted from Cold War-style espionage to a “gig economy” of sabotage, where hostile actors recruit low-level criminals and disaffected youths via social media and encrypted apps. “This case is a clear example of an organisation linked to the Russian state using ‘proxies’, in this case British men, to carry out very serious criminal activity in this country on their behalf,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London. “The ringleaders, Earl and Reeves, willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state.”
The court also heard about a second, even more audacious plot: to set fire to Chichvarkin’s Mayfair wine shop and restaurant and to kidnap the Russian billionaire dissident himself. That scheme was disrupted before it could be carried out, thanks to the vigilance of British counterterrorism police.
While Earl and Reeves were fully aware of the political motives behind their actions, the other men were paid for their involvement and, according to the court, became unwitting “stooges” for Vladimir Putin’s regime. Ugnius Asmena testified that he had been offered £500 in cash for what he was told was a “simple and easy” job, claiming he knew nothing of the Russian connection.
During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema Grubb described the crimes as a “planned campaign of terrorism and sabotage in the interests of the Russian state.” She emphasized the pernicious influence of foreign actors using social media to enlist saboteurs far from Moscow. Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC echoed these concerns, calling the case “deliberate and calculated criminality at the behest of foreign influence.”
The National Security Act played a pivotal role in this prosecution, giving British authorities new tools to confront emerging threats from hostile states. Frank Ferguson, head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service, said, “This case demonstrates how vital the (National Security) Act is in protecting the UK from hostile state activity and ensuring those who seek to undermine our safety and security are held fully accountable.”
For the families and communities affected, the revelations were deeply unsettling. Earl’s own barrister, Paul Hynes KC, described his client as “easy meat for the very sophisticated operatives of the Wagner Group acting as proxies for the Russian Federation.” He painted a picture of a lonely young man, isolated in his bedroom, gaming online and seeking significance. For Reeves, Henry Blaxland KC noted that the case “reveals the extent to which the Russian state and agents of the Russian state have managed to penetrate the UK through taking advantage of adolescents buried in their computers.” He added that heavy drug use had “distorted his judgment.”
This disturbing episode is just one chapter in a broader pattern of Russian-linked sabotage across Europe. Authorities have linked recent attacks to similar incidents in Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and France, all apparently designed to send a message: supporting Ukraine comes with a price. As Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s former foreign minister, told CNN, thwarting this campaign feels like “playing whack-a-mole: You catch one and Russia easily replaces them with several others hired through Telegram.”
The sentencing of Earl, Reeves, and their co-conspirators stands as a stark warning: the battle for security in Europe is no longer confined to shadowy spies and secret codes. It now plays out in the open, fueled by social media, encrypted messaging, and a new generation of “proxies” willing to sell their services to the highest bidder. The challenge for law enforcement—and for society—is only growing more complex.
