Latest news with #Schemes
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Russia may have recruited Ukrainian suspect behind Starmer arson via Telegram app, media reports
Ukrainian citizen Roman Lavrynovych, suspected of setting fire to property linked to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, may have been recruited by Russia via the Telegram messaging app, RFE/RL's Schemes investigative project reported on June 3. Two properties and a car linked to Starmer were targeted in arson attacks in the first half of May. Lavrynovych, a 21-year-old working as a model and a roofer, was charged on May 15. He allegedly set a car that Starmer previously sold to a neighbor on fire on May 8. The suspect also allegedly started fires at Starmer's two former residences on May 11 and 12. The police said the property suffered damage, but no one was injured. An analysis of Lavrynovych's social media activity revealed that between 2022 and 2025, he actively searched for work through various Telegram channels aimed at foreigners in London. His most recent job-seeking post appeared in the London UA group on May 2, days before a car linked to Starmer was set ablaze in London. "Looking for a job, I will consider any options," Lavrynovych wrote. Soon after, a user named Yurii replied, asking Lavrynovych to message him privately. Yurii had joined London UA only a few days prior to the dialog, according to Schemes. Another Ukrainian citizen, Petro Pochynok, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, is expected to appear at Westminster magistrates' court on May 21. Stanislav Carpiuc, a Russian-speaking Romanian national born in Ukraine, was also charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. British security officials are currently investigating possible Russian involvement in the attacks, the Financial Times reported on May 23. Western officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of using covert sabotage, cyberattacks, and disinformation as part of its broader campaign to destabilize European nations that support Ukraine during the Russian large-scale war. Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) warned on June 2 that Russian intelligence services are actively attempting to recruit Ukrainian nationals for illegal operations across the European Union. Read also: Operation Spiderweb — everything we know about Ukraine's 'audacious' attack on Russia's heavy bombers We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Portnov family bought Dubai properties worth over $2 million, media investigation says
The family of late Andriy Portnov, a former top aide to ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, acquired more than $2 million worth of real estate in Dubai during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an investigative report by Schemes, a project by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has revealed on June 2. According to property records leaked from Dubai's Land Department and state-owned utilities, verified in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Le Monde, six properties were purchased in 2022–2023 by Portnov's civil partner, Anastasiia Valiaieva, and his daughter, Liliia Portnova. As of mid-2025, five of the properties remain under their ownership. The first known purchase was made by Portnova in October 2022, when she bought a 69-square-meter apartment in Sobha Hartland One Park Avenue for around $320,000. Property acquisitions reportedly accelerated in mid-2023, with Portnova and Valiaieva investing in multiple new developments, including Sobha Hartland Waves Opulence and Creek Vista Heights, spending between $132,000 and $600,000 per unit. One property — an apartment in Sobha Hartland Waves Opulence valued at over $600,000 — is still under construction and slated for completion in September 2025. Another, in Creek Vista Heights, worth more than $550,000, is expected to be completed in 2026. Despite owning these high-end assets, Schemes found no public records indicating current business activity for either woman. Valiaieva previously owned a company called Vasilisa Group, formerly known as Portnov Group and linked to Portnov himself, but he ceased to be listed as its owner in 2020. Journalists were also able to confirm that Valiaieva has held Russian citizenship since 2014 and that Portnova is a Swiss national. In April 2024, Portnov transferred ownership of a luxury estate outside Kyiv to his children through a notarized deed of gift. The document, obtained by Schemes, shows that the transaction was conducted by Valiaieva on behalf of their children. A Ukrainian notary certified the deed, while a lawyer who previously represented Portnov in court, Marina Parinova, acted on his behalf using a power of attorney notarized in Madrid. Neither Portnova nor Valiaieva responded to requests for comment from Schemes, nor did attorneys previously associated with Portnov. The revelations come around two weeks after Portnov was shot dead in Madrid on May 21. Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed his death to the Kyiv Independent. Spanish media outlets said Portnov was shot at five times, with at least three bullets striking his head and torso. No arrests have been made. Portnov, 51, was a central figure in the Yanukovych administration from 2010 to 2014 and was sanctioned by the United States in 2021 over allegations of corruption and judicial manipulation. After fleeing Ukraine following the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, he resided in Russia and Austria, returning to Ukraine in 2019. He fled again in June 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion began. Known as one of the most litigious ex-officials in Ukraine, Portnov sued several media outlets, including the Kyiv Independent, over reports labeling him "pro-Russian." He won a defamation case in a Kyiv court in 2024. His influence extended into the media as well: he briefly headed the pro-Russian TV channel NewsOne in 2018. A 2020 UkraineWorld report accused Portnov of using online bots to discredit the EuroMaidan Revolution and Ukraine's pro-European reforms. Read also: Hated, tainted, and covertly pro-Russian — Andriy Portnov, the top Ukrainian ex-official shot dead in Spain We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian military wife urging her husband to rape Ukrainian women convicted in Ukraine
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv has convicted in absentia of violating the laws and customs of war and sentenced to 5 years in prison a Russian citizen, Olga Bykovska, who urged her husband, a Russian soldier, to rape Ukrainian women. Source: Skhemy, a Radio Liberty project Details: The decision, the text of which has been seen by Skhemy, was adopted by the court on 24 March 2025. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) released audio of a conversation between a Russian soldier and his wife, which was intercepted in April. The woman gives her husband permission to rape Ukrainian women, but "use protection". Journalists of the Ukrainian and Russian services of Radio Liberty identified the couple as Olga and Roman Bykovsky living in Feodosia, occupied Crimea. The Russian woman was served with a notice of suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war and put on the international wanted list. Ukrainian law enforcement officers completed the investigation and sent an indictment against Olga Bykovska (née Pinyasova) to court in December 2022. The court has now sentenced her to 5 years' imprisonment from the date of her arrest. Bykovska is currently on the international wanted list. She also has to compensate the state for more than 15,000 hryvnias (US$361,66) in procedural costs, including a forensic linguistic, semantic and textual examination and an examination of the sound recording of the Bykovskys' voices. The court also reviewed the video version of the Schemes investigation and the conversations between the journalists and the Bykovskys, which formed the basis of the criminal proceedings. The verdict will become effective after the deadline for filing an appeal. The investigation was conducted by the SSU Main Investigation Department under the supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office. Paratrooper Roman Bykovsky took part in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He and his wife are from Oryol Oblast of the Russian Federation. In a conversation with Radio Liberty journalists, Bykovsky said that the voice on the SSU recording was not his. At the same time, his voice is the same as in the recordings of law enforcement officers. Olga Bykovskaya's voice also completely matches the voice on the audio recording posted by Ukraine's Security Service. During a conversation with journalists, Olga reported that her husband was in Sevastopol, being treated in a hospital after being wounded. Where exactly, she said she did not know. After that, Bykovskaya interrupted the conversation and dropped further calls. Neither Roman Bykovsky nor his wife responded to messages on social media. After the conversation, Olga deleted her account on Vkontakte, a popular Russian social media site. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
