Officials on Monday revealed new details about a series of arson attacks targeting properties connected to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, alleging the suspects were recruited and directed by a Russian-speaking handler.

According to police and court reporting, the suspects were promised payment to carry out a coordinated campaign in London in May 2025, including attacks involving a vehicle and two properties linked to Starmer.

A new investigation reported that the handler is believed to be a diplomat trained in information warfare and part of a broader Russian sabotage and disinformation operation directed from Moscow, according to the Kyiv Post.

Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted in connection with the arson plot after Lavrynovych was recruited by a Russian-speaking Telegram handler known as «El Money,» according to police and court reporting. Kyiv Post reported that Carpiuc was also born in Ukraine. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted.

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According to police, Lavrynovych was recruited through Telegram by a Russian-speaking handler saved in his phone contacts as «El Money,» who allegedly directed him through a series of increasingly serious tasks while promising payment in return.

«Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you the money you need to leave the city,» the handler allegedly wrote in one message cited by investigators, according to Kyiv Post.

BRITAIN INTRODUCES SWEEPING NEW POWERS TO TARGET FOREIGN STATE-LINKED GROUPS INCLUDING IRAN’S IRGC

Officials arrest a Ukrainian man who was later found guilty of setting on fire houses linked to U.K. Prime Minister Starmer. (Metropolitan Police)

The handler reportedly offered Lavrynovych Russian citizenship in exchange for carrying out the attacks and frequently voiced support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the outlet. Evidence also suggested that «El Money» was trained in information warfare by propagandists and intelligence operatives, the outlet said.

Investigators added that Russian operatives allegedly coordinated the campaign remotely through social media platforms and Telegram, using fake far-right and Muslim online communities to sow division and fear in the U.K., Kyiv Post said.

The Russian Embassy has reportedly denied any involvement, rejecting «any attempt to associate Russia or its foreign ministry with unlawful activities,» according to the report.

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Police officers stand outside Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s private home, after it was damaged by fire in a suspected arson attack in north London, Britain, May 13, 2025. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)

According to officials, the three arson attacks occurred over a five-day period in May 2025.

The first attack took place on May 8, when a Toyota vehicle formerly owned by Starmer was set ablaze.

A second fire was set on May 11 at the entrance of a residential property that was managed by a company in which Starmer had previously served as a director and shareholder.

The third attack occurred on May 12 at a house that is owned by the prime minister.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a video conference meeting outside Moscow on April 7, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

«The actions of the two men involved in these arson attacks were incredibly reckless, and it was sheer luck that nobody was killed or injured,» Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said in a statement.

Police said Lavrynovych was arrested on May 13 last year after detectives linked the suspect to the attacks through CCTV footage and phone records indicating he had conducted reconnaissance ahead of the fires.

Authorities said Carpiuc was arrested on May 17 in the departure lounge at Luton Airport moments before boarding a flight to Romania.

Los motivos detrás del reconocimiento de Somalilandia por parte de Israel

El primer ministro israelí, Benjamin Netanyahu. Foto EFE / Ronen Zvulun / Poo.

The Trump administration will keep its military buildup in the Middle East in place despite signing a new agreement with Iran, underscoring Washington’s continued distrust of Iran as the two sides enter a 60-day negotiating period.

«The plan is to keep the current force posture during the 60-day negotiations,» a senior U.S. official told reporters on a call Monday. «We hope to draw them down, but we’re not doing that yet.»

«The agreement contemplates the reduction of military forces in the region upon the agreement of a final deal,» the official added.

Officials said President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf already have signed the memorandum, and that the details of the agreement will be released publicly within the next 24 to 48 hours. A formal signing ceremony is expected later in the week. 

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The decision means the Pentagon will maintain a military posture that recently included roughly 50,000 troops deployed across the Middle East, one of the largest U.S. force concentrations in the region in more than two decades. Publicly available fleet tracking data indicate at least two carrier strike groups remain in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

Officials repeatedly stressed that any sanctions relief, asset releases or future concessions would be tied to verification and Iranian performance, not promises alone, with one senior official acknowledging the two sides remain in the early stages of «building trust.»

That lack of trust was evident in the administration’s description of the agreement, which differs in key respects from accounts published by Iranian officials and state-linked media.

VANCE SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S KEY OBJECTIVES HAVE BEEN REACHED IN US-IRAN DEAL

White House officials insisted Monday that no frozen Iranian assets have been released and said any sanctions relief would be conditioned on Iranian performance during the upcoming negotiations.

Officials said President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, pictured above, have already signed the memorandum with Iran.  (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

Officials said President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have already signed the memorandum. (Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images)

«The very simple fact is, $0 of unfrozen assets have been released by the United States or any other country,» one official said.

Iranian officials and state-linked media, meanwhile, have described the framework as paving the way for the release of roughly $24 billion in frozen Iranian funds and broader economic relief during the negotiation period. 

White House officials disputed reports that any funds have already been released and repeatedly emphasized that future economic concessions would be earned through compliance rather than granted upfront.

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«We’ll do some small gestures of that in the beginning, if they make some small gestures to us,» an official said.

While Trump has portrayed the agreement as a potential turning point in U.S.–Iran relations, the memorandum itself is narrower in scope. The framework extends the ceasefire, establishes a 60-day negotiating window and seeks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments normally pass.

The reopening of the Strait may prove to be the agreement’s most immediate and economically significant effect. White House officials said the memorandum provides for the opening of the waterway and the lifting of the naval blockade, though they cautioned that commercial shipping could take days or weeks to return to normal levels as mines are cleared and shipping companies regain confidence in the route.

Officials also said the agreement requires the Strait to remain open toll-free during the 60-day negotiating period. The administration expects shipping traffic to increase significantly over the coming days, easing pressure on global energy markets.

The deal, officials said, creates a framework under which Iran could eventually receive sanctions relief and broader access to the global economy in exchange for verifiable steps to ensure it does not rebuild its nuclear program and curbs support for terrorism and regional instability.

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«If they’re willing to behave like a normal country, then we’re willing to treat them like a normal country,» one official said.

The prospect of renewed traffic through the Strait has already reverberated through global markets. Oil prices fell following news of the agreement as traders bet that one of the world’s most important energy choke points could soon return to normal operations.