Three Ukrainians on trial over fires linked to Keir Starmer properties

Prosecutors said three fires in five days were no coincidence: a Toyota RAV4, a flat in Islington and a former family home in Kentish Town were all linked to Sir Keir Starmer. The case has moved beyond a dispute over who did what to a sharper question of political security, after jurors heard that the alleged attacks were coordinated, deliberate and aimed at property tied to a sitting prime minister.

Petro Pochynok, 35, is on trial with Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, at the Old Bailey over an alleged conspiracy to damage property by fire between 1 April and 13 May 2025. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said the incidents on 8 May, 11 May and 12 May were not random, but part of a plan involving the car, the block of flats in Ellington Road, Islington, and the Kentish Town house where Starmer had lived until he moved into Downing Street in July 2024.

The court heard that the Kentish Town property was occupied at the time by Starmer’s sister-in-law and her family. Prosecutors said she heard loud bangs, saw smoke and fire at the front door, had asthma and struggled to breathe, and that her nine-year-old daughter was frightened by the smoke. That evidence turned the fires into more than a property crime: it raised immediate questions about the vulnerability of families living in homes tied to public figures, and the risks when intimidation reaches inside residential streets.

Pochynok told jurors he had been asked to help with some “heavy suitcases” and went to the scene expecting luggage. He said he found only a rucksack, that Lavrynovych seemed irritated and kept talking about money, and that he told him not to set fire to the car. Pochynok said he threw a phone to the floor and ran away because he did not want to take part in a crime. He denied agreeing to be involved at any stage, denied agreeing to be paid for any arsons, and said he worked in construction and at Harrods.

Lavrynovych, meanwhile, told the court he had been recruited by a Russian-speaking Telegram contact using the name “El Money”. Prosecutors said he exchanged more than 300 messages with the contact and was told he could earn £2,000 for torching a car. They said the messages, the promised payment and the timing of the fires showed planning rather than coincidence. The jury has been told it does not need to decide who “El Money” is, only whether the defendants conspired to set fire to the properties and whether life was endangered. The trial is expected to continue for several weeks.