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.

Read more: New York Times