Roman Lavrynovych, 21 years old and of Ukrainian nationality, will appear today before British Justice to be formally charged for the fire at a house and a car belonging to the Prime Minister of that country, Keir Starmer, and an apartment that was also owned by him. The actions have been classified as terrorist attacks by the police of the United Kingdom.
According to British media, the security forces of that country do not rule out that behind Lavrynovych there may be what they describe as "a hostile State," in what appears to be a veiled reference to Russia. On Wednesday, three Ukrainians were arrested in Germany and Switzerland, accused of planning, at Russia's behest, fires and bomb attacks.
In mid-July of last year, three explosive devices detonated at the airports of the cities of Birmingham, in the United Kingdom, Leipzig, in Germany, and Warsaw, in Poland. A month later, the German government warned companies in that country of possible bomb attacks. In October, the head of German intelligence, Thomas Haldenwang, stated in the Berlin Parliament that the country had narrowly escaped a terrorist attack that could have caused a major air disaster.
Nevertheless, no one knows Lavrynovych's motivations. According to neighbors in the Sydenham neighborhood, in southeast London, where he resided, he was a kind and polite person, appreciated by the community and without political leanings or a propensity for violence. Russia has a reputation for recruiting small-time criminals - and Sydenham is an area with drug trafficking - and offering them minimal amounts of money to carry out violent actions against dissidents or countries it considers enemies.