Russia was behind the attempted arson on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's house, according to a new report.
The BBC detailed that Roman Lavrynovych, who was convicted of the crime on Monday, did not know who his target was and was led to do it by a handler linked to the Russian state.
The anonymous person, known as EL, told him after the attack that he had just targeted the "home of a very high-ranking person in Britain" and told him to leave the city.
EL had offered Lavrynovych Russian citizenship in exchange for other attacks and glorified Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to messages unearthed by the outlet.
The BBC went on to identify EL as Evgeny Lyukshin, a young Russian diplomat who is the son of a senior official and has engaged in information warfare and is close to high-ranking officials in Moscow.
Russia-based accounts spread misinformation about the attack and its motivation that were later spread by well-known figures in the country.
The Russian Embassy in the UK dismissed the report, saying it rejects "any attempt to associate Russia or its foreign ministry with unlawful activities." It went on to claim that the country poses "no threat to the United Kingdom or its people and harbours no aggressive intentions towards Britain".
Elsewhere, the BBC noted that Lavrynovych was recruited by Lyukshin after finding him in a group for Ukrainians in London looking for work. The man was given unlawful tasks that eventually ended up in the arson.
Lyukshin posted other messages in similar groups asking Ukrainians to paint graffitis in London. In other messages he also used offensive language against them. Lavrynovych said he carried out the actions because he needed the money, not because he shared the ideology being spread.
