Two men who were acting on behalf of Russia’s mercenary Wagner group were jailed for over a decade on Friday for what prosecutors described as "a sustained campaign of terrorism and sabotage on UK soil."
Dylan Earl, 20, and Jake Reeves, 23, were sentenced under the UK’s National Security Act for activity linked to a foreign state.
In March 2024, Earl committed arson at a warehouse in East London, which held humanitarian aid and Starlink satellite equipment for Ukraine.
Earl carried out the arson attack after connecting with the Wagner Group on Telegram and asking to take on missions.
After this, Reeves recruited three others to attack the warehouse, though they did not know they were working for the Wagner Group.
UK arrests multiple men in connection with Wagner-backed arson attack
“It is clear that this was a targeted attack given the connection the warehouse had to Ukraine in shipping aid and other goods,” said David Cawthorne, Unit Head from the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division.
“The arson, on behalf of the Wagner Group, a private military contractor intimately connected to the Russian state, was orchestrated by Dylan Earl and Jake Reeves, who recruited others.
“The fire caused large-scale damage and risked the lives of those in and around the area, as well as those whose public duty meant that they needed to attend the fire.’
Earl was also convicted for his role in a plot targeting a wine shop and restaurant in London's upmarket Mayfair district, with plans to kidnap the owner, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earl discussed setting fire to Hide Restaurant and Hedonism Wines in Mayfair using explosives, as well as kidnapping the owner of the establishment with Ashton Evans, 20. Prosecutors charged Evans with failing to disclose information to the police about terrorist acts.
Earl will serve 17 years in prison, with six on probation; Reeves will serve 12 years, with a year on probation; and Evans will serve nine years, with one year on probation.
The other three individuals will serve between seven and nine years in prison.