London, Jul 9 (AP) A late-night blaze erupted at an east London warehouse storing equipment destined for Ukraine. A truck driver resting nearby heard the crackle of flames and attempted to respond with a fire extinguisher, but the inferno was too large, forcing him to retreat. When police arrived, they urged residents of a nearby apartment building to evacuate swiftly. Parents hurriedly grabbed their children, escaping into the night. Just 30 minutes after the fire ignited, Dylan Earl, a British national admitting responsibility for orchestrating the arson, received a congratulatory message in Russian. This message was believed by UK authorities to be from his Russian handler, affirming, "Excellent." On Tuesday, a British court found three men guilty of initiating the March 2024 arson attack, believed to be masterminded by Russia's intelligence services. This was reportedly part of a wider disruption campaign across Europe, attributed by Western officials to Moscow and its proxies. Two additional men, including Earl, had previously confessed their roles in planning the attack. This incident is among over 70 linked to Russia that The Associated Press has documented since the onset of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Four European intelligence officials voiced concerns to AP about escalating risks, citing the increasing danger of injury or death as untrained saboteurs engage in actions such as setting fires near homes and businesses, or planting explosives. AP records show 12 significant arson or sabotage incidents last year compared to two in 2023 and zero in 2022. "As such campaigns progress, they often spiral into increasing violence," said a senior European intelligence official, speaking anonymously about security matters. The Kremlin did not comment on the British case. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had previously denounced similar allegations due to a lack of evidence. Russia allegedly recruits primarily foreign amateurs, including young people with no prior criminal background, the intelligence officials elucidated. The move towards amateur recruitment reportedly followed the expulsion of hundreds of Moscow's spies from Western nations after the 2018 poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergey Skripal in the UK. This incident led to a British woman's death, triggering significant Western retaliation. Russia reportedly had to adapt its methods, resorting to proxy operatives for discretion, explained the senior official. Evidence from the London warehouse case disclosed details of their recruitment approach. Case documents revealed messages between a presumed Russian intelligence agent and Earl, active on Telegram channels linked with the Wagner group, a mercenary entity later absorbed by Russia’s Defence Ministry in 2023. British intelligence suspects Russian military intelligence, via Wagner, organized the arson plot, according to Kevin Riehle, an intelligence expert at Brunel University. The recruiter communicated on Telegram as "Privet Bot," soliciting recruits to join the anti-West campaign, Riehle testified. Earl and his recruiter conversed predominantly in Russian, translating via Google, as demonstrated by text screenshots. In one instance, the recruiter praised Earl, 21, calling him "wise and clever despite being young," and recommended watching "The Americans," likening it to a training manual for him. At one point, Earl exaggerated unverified affiliations with the Irish Republican Army, boasting of ties to various criminals and claiming he could be "the best spy you have ever seen." While Earl and his associate recruited others for the warehouse fire, evidence suggests Earl never met his accomplices nor visited the site. Once at the warehouse, one individual reportedly doused gasoline before sparking a rag to ignite the fuel while another filmed the arson. CCTV cameras also captured the act. The warehouse stored supplies for mail orders to Ukraine, including StarLink devices crucial for internet access via satellites, used by Ukraine's military. The blaze consumed approximately half of the warehouse’s contents, jeopardizing nearby residents. Over 60 firefighters responded to the intense flames. “I was frantically knocking on doors and shouting about the fire,” testified Tessa Ribera Fernandez, a resident with a 2-year-old son. Initially, Russian interference consisted mainly of graffiti and vandalism, but it has evidently progressed to arson and even assassination attempts, disclosed the senior intelligence official. Other risky Russia-linked plots involve sabotaging cargo planes and targeting shopping centers in Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. Lithuanian prosecutors uncovered a Ukrainian teenager’s alleged plot to bomb a Vilnius IKEA, resulting in a substantial fire but no casualties. Post-London fire discussions among Earl and his conspirators allegedly involved targeting businesses of Evgeny Chichvarkin, a pro-Ukraine Russian tycoon. Potential targets were suggested to be reduced to “ashes,” Earl proposed, noting a lack of intent for fatalities, albeit contemplating lethal options including explosives. According to the senior intelligence official, this reflects a growing danger within these middleman-recruited schemes, progressively advancing in severity over time. Despite efforts for stringent Russian operational routines—dictating targets, methods, and recordings—the erratic nature of external operatives sometimes prevails, stated Lotta Hakala, a Finnish Security and Intelligence Service analyst. In London's event, evidence pointed to inadequate control by the Russian orchestrator. Following the fire, the Russian recruiter reprimanded Earl for his premature action, implying financial compensation was void. Nonetheless, the recruiter expressed interest in further targeting Europe-related Ukraine support, branding Earl as a sharpened asset for forthcoming “serious battles.” (AP) NSA NSA
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