BBC investigation links UK mosque graffiti and Starmer arson to single Russian network

Why it matters

The investigation ties two unrelated-seeming crime waves in the UK — the high-profile arson targeting the prime minister's property and a string of Islamophobic mosque attacks — to a single Russian intelligence operation. It shows how Russian actors allegedly used Telegram-based recruitment and a fake far-right front, Direct Action UK, to outsource sabotage and provocations to low-paid foreign executors. The probe names a specific alleged coordinator — Russian diplomat Yevheniy Liukshin (initials "EL") — pointing to state-level involvement in campaigns on British soil.

What happened

A BBC and Hope not Hate investigation has concluded that the same Russian agent network was behind both the arson attacks on property linked to then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the anti-Muslim graffiti sprayed on mosques and Islamic community buildings across London. Ukrainian Ilya Bilyk pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates' Court to five counts of racially and religiously aggravated criminal damage for graffiti he painted in January 2025 on the Stratford Islamic Association, the Al-Birr mosque, the Leyton Jamia Masjid, Noor Ul Islam primary school and the Islamic Sharia Council in east London. He is due to be sentenced on 19 October at Stratford Magistrates' Court.

In a separate case, Ukrainians Roman Lavrynovych and Stanislav Karpiuk were convicted in June 2025 of conspiracy to commit arson against property linked to Starmer; Lavrynovych received a seven-year prison sentence. Lavrynovych was also found to have taken part in anti-Muslim graffiti in south London. Both Bilyk and Lavrynovych told police they were recruited via Telegram by a Russian-speaking handler using the initials "EL," who supplied target lists and paid them after each job. The Financial Times reported that the account that recruited Lavrynovych was linked to the pro-Kremlin hacker group NoName057(16), which the US has designated a "Russian state-sanctioned project."

The BBC investigation identifies "EL" as Russian diplomat Yevheniy Liukshin, who is said to have been trained in "information warfare" by senior Russian intelligence officers and to have run the fake far-right group Direct Action UK, used as cover for the vandalism. Photos of the graffiti Bilyk carried out were posted in Direct Action UK's Telegram channel.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

All supplied sources are Ukrainian-language outlets that frame the story as a BBC-led investigation exposing Russian intelligence recruitment of Ukrainians for sabotage abroad. Coverage foregrounds the Ukrainian nationality of the perpetrators — Ilya Bilyk, Roman Lavrynovych and Stanislav Karpiuk — and the recruitment-via-Telegram mechanism, while emphasising Russian state responsibility. Several outlets note the irony that Ukrainians recruited through Russian-language channels were used to attack a Western leader and Muslim communities in Britain, a framing that highlights Russian exploitation of Ukrainians as low-paid executors.

Where reporting differs

Sources disagree on the year of Lavrynovych and Karpiuk's conviction. One article describes it as "June of this year," placing the conviction in 2025, while three other articles state that the sentencing took place in June 2026.

Background

The Bilyk and Starmer-arson cases were investigated in parallel before being linked by the BBC and Hope not Hate. Bilyk's graffiti spree in east London in January 2025 and Lavrynovych's arson attacks on Starmer-linked property in May 2025 shared a recruitment pattern: handlers operating on Telegram, Russian-language communications, target lists supplied remotely and payment on completion. The Financial Times reported that the Telegram account that recruited Lavrynovych was linked to NoName057(16), a pro-Kremlin hacker group the US has designated a "Russian state-sanctioned project." The BBC's investigation identified "EL" as Russian diplomat Yevheniy Liukshin, trained in "information warfare" by senior Russian intelligence officers.