Men Accused in Fires Targeting Starmer Received Orders in Russian, Prosecutors Say

A man accused of carrying out arson attacks on properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain was “recruited, instructed and promised payment” by an account on the Telegram messaging app that communicated in Russian, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Prosecutors made that allegation for the first time as the man, Roman Lavrynovych, a 22-year-old Ukrainian, went on trial in London, along with two other men accused of involvement in the attacks.

The fires at two houses and a vehicle, all of which Mr. Starmer had owned or used, broke out over a five-day period in May of last year. No one was injured, but the three defendants have been charged with “being reckless” about the possibility that people could have been killed.

The trial of the three men, Mr. Lavrynovych; Stanislav Carpiuc, 27; and Petro Pochynok, 35; is being held at London’s Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey. The men have denied all the charges.

A prosecutor, Duncan Atkinson, said Mr. Lavrynovych had set all three fires. Mr. Carpiuc, he said, was tasked with “planning and receiving payment” and recruited Mr. Pochynok to film Mr. Lavrynovych’s first attack, on an S.U.V.

He said the men “have not demonstrated any particular political or ideological motivation” in relation to Mr. Starmer. Counterterrorism detectives investigated the fires because of their connection to “a high-profile public figure,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement last year.

Mr. Atkinson said phone records showed that Mr. Lavrynovych and Mr. Carpiuc had communicated with the same Telegram account, which used the Russian language and had a Ukrainian name that translates to “E.L. Money” in English.

Mr. Atkinson told the jury that the motivations of whoever was behind the Telegram account were not relevant to the case against the defendants. “It is no part of your considerations to decide who ‘E.L. Money’ is and what reason he might have had to coordinate the actions of these defendants,” he said.

Mr. Lavrynovych, a builder and aspiring model, and Mr. Pochynok, who described himself online as an entrepreneur in fashion retail, are both Ukrainian citizens. Mr. Carpiuc, a hotel worker who is also an aspiring model, was born in Ukraine but holds Romanian nationality, according to his lawyer. They all lived in different parts of London at the time of the fires.

The first fire targeted an S.U.V. that Mr. Starmer had previously owned, which went up in flames on a residential London street at 3 a.m. on May 8. Mr. Atkinson said partial records of Telegram messages recovered from Mr. Lavrynovych’s phone suggested that he had received a “targeting pack, explaining where to go and what to do, together with a means or promise of payment in cryptocurrency.”

Three days later, a fire was set at the front door of a house with several apartments, which was managed by a company where Mr. Starmer had previously been a director and shareholder. And early on May 12, the townhouse that Mr. Starmer shared with his family in the Kentish Town neighborhood before moving in 2024 to the prime minister’s official residence, 10 Downing Street, was also targeted.

Mr. Starmer still owns the townhouse, and when the fire was set, his sister-in-law was living there with her family, including her 9-year-old daughter, Mr. Atkinson said. While no one was hurt, he said, the fires at both homes had “put the lives of the occupants at risk,” with flammable liquid poured on the front doors.

Hours after the fire, Mr. Lavrynovych was sent some “advice” by E.L. Money, Mr. Atkinson said. The message, originally in Russian but translated into English for the jury, read: “Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you money, you need to leave the city.”

“If the police detain you, secretly write the word ‘geranium’ and I’ll send a lawyer to you, I’ll give you money for a week and a new phone,” the message continued. “We won’t be in touch for a week.”

Mr. Lavrynovych was arrested early the next morning, and the other two men were detained over the following week.

All three defendants have been charged with conspiring together to damage property by fire, which they deny. Mr. Lavrynovych faces two further charges of arson with intent to endanger life in relation to the attacks on the residences, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to last for two to three weeks.