Ukrainian sentenced to seven years in UK for arson of property linked to PM Starmer
A British court sentenced Ukrainian citizen Roman Lavrynovych to seven years in prison for setting fire to a car and houses connected to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in May 2025. His accomplice, Romanian citizen Stanislav Karpyuk, received two years.
A court in the UK on Friday sentenced Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych to seven years in prison for arson attacks on a car and two houses linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The incidents took place in May 2025 in north London.
His accomplice, 27-year-old Romanian citizen Stanislav Karpyuk, was convicted of conspiracy to commit arson and sentenced to two years. Another Ukrainian, 35-year-old Petro Pochynko, was acquitted earlier.
The court found that Lavrynovych was recruited for the attacks by a Russian-speaking Telegram user with the handle "El Money," who promised payment. Lavrynovych repeatedly told police he did not know who Keir Starmer was.
Prosecutors did not specify who organized the attacks. However, the BBC previously published an investigation pointing to a Russian link. The handler allegedly offered Russian citizenship in exchange for further attacks and praised Vladimir Putin. Evidence uncovered by journalists suggests the handler may be Russian diplomat Yevgeniy Lyukshin, who has ties to top Moscow authorities.
