Two men were jailed on Friday, June 19th, for their role in arson attacks on properties and a vehicle linked to British prime minister Keir Starmer.
Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych (22) was jailed for seven years while his accomplice, Ukrainian-born Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc (27), was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
The sentencing at the Old Bailey brings to a close a very public ‘fire for hire’ case, in which the arsonists were recruited on the messaging app Telegram by an operative known as ‘EL,’ or ‘El Money.’ Public broadcaster the BBC claimed in its documentary Panorama—The Starmer Fires: The Russian Connection that ‘EL’ is connected to Russian diplomats and an online sabotage network.
Presiding judge Mr Justice Garnham described Lavrynovych—whose own mother called him “naive” after “poor health impacted his intelligence”—as a “useful idiot” who could be easily manipulated. Even his own defence counsel said Lavrynovych was a “complete and utter foot soldier” and “fodder for this type of infiltration.”
The attacks, described as “utterly reckless,” ignited
- a Toyota car previously owned by the prime minister on a street he previously lived on in Kentish Town, on May 8th, 2025;
- a fire at flats linked to Starmer in nearby Islington on May 11th, where lived previously;
- a fire at the entrance to Starmer’s Kentish Town home, which he still owned and was being rented out to his sister-in-law, Judith Alexander.
