Russia was behind arson attacks targeting PM

[MyJustCat]

It doesn't seem to have been discussed on here but after a year long news blackout in court today a couple of young Ukrainian 'male models' were convinced by a Russian special intelligence handler to set fire to Starmer's former residences

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r2l352z2do

Does anyone believe this?

My husband and I were just talking about this strange story. They set fire to a car Kier Starmer “once owned”??

Its not like Russia doesn't know his current address - aka Downing Street.

What do you mean by 'news blackout'? They announced who they had arrested after it happened. Given that it could have been part of a wider terrorist operation, speculation was cut down around it.

Surely no one is surprised that Russia is meddling with our country (and many others). Its what they are best at.
Look at what they do on SM.

It's an excellent, detailed article, evidenced from lots of sources.

The Russian who recruited the arsonists called himself "EL" but is potentially Evgeny Lyukshin, son of a Russian diplomat. Not least because he couldn't stop himself boasting about his connections...

The article describes activities EL paid people to do or tried but failed to get recruits for.

These included spray-painting anti-Islam slogans on mosques, painting a Quaranic verse on a Conservative Club, and putting up by a mosque an anti-Muslim poster designed to appear like it had been written by a Hindu. Very detailed instructions, to make sure they got it right!

At one point he tried to hire some Bristol graffiti artists for this stuff. Unsurprisingly, they, er, declined his kind offer!

EL set up astroturfing entities to carry this stuff out, including "Takbir Foundation", a fake Islamic jihad organisation, and "Direct Action", a fake far-right organisation.

So all absolutely standard Russian disinformation and provocateur stuff that we've been seeing for the last ten years at least.

They do like their hybrid warfare: fake organisation, social media messaging, paid grunts to do real-world actions when they can't wind folk up to act for free.

There's a share token on this link to a very good Financial Times article on the same, "Arson targeting Keir Starmer properties originated in Russia"
https://bsky.app/profile/joshspero.ft.com/post/3mod7ht73ls27

Both articles are quite long but the FT article covers slightly different aspects, so it's worth reading both.

None of this came as a shock to me. I've been loosely following the Russian trend for hybrid warfare, both disinformation and the use of hapless proxies for real-world attacks, for years.

But if much of this is new to you, these articles are an excellent primer. Lots of worked examples, so to speak.

BTW it's not clear why the OP has described the arsonists as "male models".

There's no evidence to suggest they're models, or even "models". Despite Russia-based social media accounts trying to spread this as a story.

From the article in the OP:

Russia was behind arson attacks targeting PM, BBC reveals
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r2l352z2do

EL's ideology and goals were plain.

Messages from the EL account in various Telegram channels show him glorifying Putin and Russia, attacking the Ukrainian people and promoting Russian narratives.

"It is obvious that Putin is the leader of the white race," he posted in one chat.

EL posted in jobs groups for Ukrainians, asking for "painters to do graffiti" in London - but in other chat groups he used deeply offensive Russian terms for Ukrainian people.

EL incited attacks on conscription centres in Ukraine, which has been at war since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. He said that people there who are in favour of the "white Slavic race" should join the "real Third Rome", a reference to the belief that Russia is the successor to the Roman Empire.

"Work for the glory of the nation to spite your enemies," EL added, before offering $1,000 (£749) and Russian citizenship as a reward for arson attacks.

EL also gave hints about his identity, offering Russians in other Telegram groups access to documents from Nato and the CIA. "My father leaks part of it to me, it was not for nothing that he went to Europe," he said.

On iPlayer:

Panorama - The Starmer Fires: The Russian Connection
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002wfvv/panorama-the-starmer-fires-the-russian-connection

There's another thread on this, on the front page:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5542960-if-you-support-reform-restore-greens-and-similar-far-rightleft-parties

Have to say, after looking at their photos, I'm finding the OP's "male model" story a bit difficult to swallow...

Russia is just such a failed state. They do nothing but cheat, kill and destroy. They no longer have any industry but oil, gas and war. There is no longer and culture. When you think of the music and literature they once produced. Now nothing.

No athlete is trusted, the system only encourages cheating - it’s incredible when you think about it. Now all those lives lost because Putin decided to invade Ukraine. After what happened in Salisbury nothing would surprise me. They are involved in so much of the tommy robinson lot.

Keir, not Kier.

Why would anyone not believe it?

Russia is heavily involved in asymetic warfare against the west, particularly European nations. From warehouse fires in East London, to train derailments in Poland. Remember that they have, blatantly, deployed a chemical weapon (Novichok) in the UK.

Its what they do and there is plenty of information in the public domain (and a lot more that isn't).

Oh dahling you're so right the scrawny yob look is so over

Yes, a very strange choice of words for someone posting with no agenda at all.

This. They're massively meddling in this country. This has been clear since Brexit, and Tommy Robinson is clearly a Russian asset. The fact that the media aren't connecting the dots and shouting this from the rooftops is staggering to me. The Cold War never ended.

Not the most secret of operatives are they 😂 shouldn't laugh

OP if you don't believe this then you're doing Putin's work for him. This is exactly what the Russians want, for a sizeable segment of the British population to swallow their propaganda. We really need to get back into a Cold War mindset so that people can be taught to see what foreign misinformation and propaganda campaigns for what they actually are. If people were taught to think critically, and could see the foreign malign influence on social media perhaps Brexit and the current mess we're in wouldn't have happened. Tommy Robinson is a Russian asset, members of Reform are Russian assets. They're sowing division to destroy this country. Russia would love to see us tear ourselves apart.

TR and Farage are not men of the people as they like to portray.
They both talk out their arse,Reform in particular just spout what they would do to immigrants and not much else.

The comments on Daily Mail section on this are something to behold..conspiracy theories abound.
It's probably easier now to set up fake organisations online than what had to be physical presence years ago whether that was extreme far right or jihad.

Entirely, pre social media Russia would have needed to use spies on the ground and blatant propaganda. Now they just troll, shit post and spread lies and conspiracy theories on X, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok pretending to be 'Bob the Patriot' and shove a few England Flags in the bio. Jobs a good un.

Euphemism for rent boy, prostitute, escort, .... No? Preying on hard up, down on their luck useful idiots to do their dirty work.

SYL aka tommy robinson was meeting with Musk's father in Moscow

Coincidence 🤔

Why would the FT lie about it?

Do you not understand what security there is at Downing Street?

Weird.

You realise there were people incl a child asleep in the house when the fire was started.