Latest news with #mercenaries
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The British youths and gangsters being groomed by Russian mercenaries to turn saboteurs - but could face a gruesome end should they change their mind
Scrambling out of a crammed Kia Picanto, two hooded men slink through the darkness towards a warehouse with one goal in mind: to burn it to the ground. After dousing the front of industrial unit with petrol, one of the thugs lobs a lit rag on the building's fuel-soaked door. As the pair of firebombers sprint off into the gloom, a sudden flash of flame is caught in grainy CCTV camera footage as a roaring blaze starts to engulf the property. The inferno that ripped through units 1 and 2 of the Cromwell Industrial Estate in Leyton, east London, caused £1million of damage - and wrote off £100,000 of aid destined for war-torn Ukraine. However, the culprits weren't just arsonists. They were instead a deluded gaggle of Britons recruited as guns for hire by Russia's ruthless Wagner mercenary group. Wagner is infamous for its heavy involvement in the invasion of Ukraine as well as carrying out military campaigns on behalf of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin in Mali, the Middle East and South America. The paramilitary cult's ranks allegedly include convicted murderers, rapists and gangsters - as well as ex-military personnel. They have a fearsome reputation for carrying out sickening atrocities in warzones, from rape to murder. Last month the group was accused of kidnapping and torturing hundreds of civilians in Mali, which allegedly includes some refugees staying at former UN bases and camps shared with the country's army. And the collective of bloodthirsty goons are equally as merciless to their own - executing 'traitors' in some of the most twisted ways possible. One man had his head caved in with a sledgehammer after being caught trying to switch sides in Ukraine. 'A dog receives a dog's death,' Wagner's old warlord commander-in-chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, drawled when asked about the execution. Prigozhin, a former close ally of Vladimir Putin, was killed less than a year later when his plane crashed after leading a failed revolt against Putin. It's suspected the Kremlin ordered his execution. Now the group's tendrils appear to be spreading into the UK, as part of a drive to lure British youths into betraying their country for cash and notoriety. Increasingly, Wagner is turning to social media messaging apps such as Telegram to seek out hapless gangsters across Europe to join its ranks - and carrying out proxy missions, thought to be under the orders of military chiefs in the Kremlin or from Putin's elite spy brigade, the GRU. Professor Bart Schuurman at the University of Leiden, has chillingly claimed Russian operations, including sabotage, influence, vandalism and assassination attempts, have crept up, from 11 in 2022 to 23 in 2023 and 64 in 2024. On Tuesday, Nii Kojo Mensah, Jakeem Rose and Ugnius Asmena, were the latest to be found to have been recruited by Wagner. They were convicted of committing aggravated arson on the warehouse. They had been roped into sabotaging the property - which contained vital satellite kit from billionaire tech guru Elon Musk's Starlink communications firm destined for Ukraine - by 'ringleader' Dylan Earl. Earl, a bungling part-time drug dealer was recruited into the ruthless cartel of mercenaries after approaching the group over Telegram. The 20-year-old, who boasted of being 'the best spy you have ever seen', was enthralled by the prospect of giving up his life living at home with his parents. From his bedroom in the tiny village of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, the Putin fan who could barely speak 30 words of Russian, managed to assemble a motley crew of Britons to torch the London warehouse causing £1million of damage, destroying generators and vital Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. The young builder and cocaine dealer was given the codename of 'SAS' and billed as Wagner's 'dagger in Europe' after Earl told the terror group of his grand plans to do 'something big' for the Kremlin, boasting he could build a 'link' between the Wagner Group, IRA and notorious Kinahan crime cartel. But the hapless arsonists Earl hired, who ranged from criminals to a cleaner, did such a bad job on March 20 last year that the Russians refused to pay them, saying the arson attack was not up to Wagner's 'standards'. His henchmen, Mensah, 23, Rose, 23, and Asmena, 20, failed to properly capture a full video of the burning warehouse after fleeing in a Kia Picanto which had to be 'bump started' with a set of pliers to turn the ignition key. They were forced to return to the scene just to livestream it for the Russians, which resulted in the gang being captured on CCTV and Rose also dropped a knife with his DNA on it before fire crews arrived to bring the blaze under control. But in a chilling illustration of Russia's appetite for inflicting chaos in the UK, despite the attack not matching Earl's lofty promises, Wagner operatives were prepared to send him on an even bigger mission to kidnap billionaire Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin. When police swooped last April, Earl was preparing to firebomb his Mayfair restaurant and wine shop worth £30million. Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command said the astonishing case showed how Russia was prepared to buy criminal proxies to carry out their dirty work in the UK. Earl was the first person to be convicted under the new National Security Act last year after police uncovered messages revealing how the drug dealer, who kept a Russian flag in his room, contacted a Telegram channel known as a mouthpiece for Wagner. His second in command, Jake Reeves, also pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. And on Tuesday, Mensah, Rose, and Asmena were all convicted by a jury for their part in the firebombing. All five men now face prison. During the court case, jurors heard how Earl had a passion to get involved with the rag-tag group of Russian mercenaries - notorious for their brutal tactics overseas. 'I [have] been wanting to come Russia. I need a fresh start bro,' Earl said. 'Do I need to be able to speak Russian though because that's not the best? Literally know 30 words, if that.' A Wagner automated chatbot called 'Privet' - or 'hello' in Russian - responded: 'Hello friend. How are you? We would like you to help us in Europe. What can you do in Europe, what actions? We need those who are our kindred spirit.' Gang members Jakeem Barrington Rose, 23 (left) and Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, were also part of the group. They were convicted on Tuesday Earl was instructed to watch a Cold War drama about KGB spies as a 'manual', using The Americans TV series about KGB agents undercover in the US as an aid to help him organise 'partisan cells' in the UK. Earl, whose online name was John Wick's nickname, Baba Yaga, from the hit movies starring Keanu Reeves, bragged: 'If you need connections with IRA, I can sort it. 'You want criminal connections with murderers, kidnappers, soldiers, drug dealers, fraudsters, car thieves- I can sort it all.' He promised, 'I know I can be the best spy you have ever seen', saying he had 'hundreds of people who respect me and do everything I ask of them'. Excitedly, he told the Russians: 'I can bring you great power and connections…I can get integrated with political connections and criminal figures of the highest level in Europe and South America…I am offering you everything: ways to make tens of millions of pounds, doing any country, all fires etc, spy operations in my country against individuals, business, government… I can provide you with hundreds of soldiers and access to big criminal organisations. Everything you want.' Earl pleaded guilty to preparing conduct for acts which endangered life on behalf of a foreign power before the four-week trial at London's Old Bailey began. During the court hearing, jurors heard how Earl had used the nickname 'Baba Yaga' on Telegram - a reference to the nickname for John Wick - a fictional hitman used by Russian and American gangs portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Keanu Reeves. Earl had started to follow a group on the encrypted messaging app, Telegram, called 'Grey Zone' - a pro-Russian account used by Wagner to recruit new henchmen. It has some 500,000 members and regularly shares Kremlin propaganda and job opportunities for wannabe mercenaries. The app, popular across Russian-speaking countries and former Soviet Union states, has been critical to Wagner's efforts to launch a shadow war of sabotage across the continent. It's been linked to helping organise attacks across Europe. During three days in July 2024, packages - all sent from Lithuania - were detonated in Birmingham, Leipzig in eastern Germany and Warsaw, Poland. Polish authorities say members behind the plot were reportedly head-hunted by a GRU handler, Colonel Denis Smolyanino, through a Russian-language Telegram account used by Ukrainian refugees Officials from Poland's security service have linked a plot to firebomb a warehouse in Wroclaw, in July, as well as the arson attack on Warsaw's 44 shopping centre in May, which obliterated more than 1,400 small businesses. A probe by Polish officials tabled the blame squarely at the feet of 'Russian special services' who they accused of 'ordering' the mayhem after recruiting people on Telegram. Throughout 2023 and 2024, at least eight adverts were shared on Grey Zone, calling for volunteers to join cells across Europe to fight in the battle against countries supporting Ukraine's fight against Russian invaders, reported The Times. According to the paper, the most recent advert posted in June of last year, said the Wagner group was looking to ramp up its operations across Africa and provided four numbers for hopeful recruits to call. Hailing the position as the 'best job in the world', the advert said it would give people the 'right to defend Russia's interests abroad' while also giving them the chance to 'get a healthy tan'. It was something that enticed Earl. After being put in touch with a handler, he was later given orders to carry out an in-depth reconnaissance on the warehouses which the group claimed was being used to aid 'Ukrainian terrorists'. The warehouses were owned by British-Ukrainian businessman Mikhail Boikov and were used to store aid for Kyiv - as well as Starlink equipment, which could be used to help frontline troops to communicate with each other through Elon Musk's network of space satellites. Earl went about hiring his team of covert saboteurs, with the promise of £1,000 once they carried out their mission. But they were hardly soldiers. Jake Reeves, 23, from Croydon, was working as a Gatwick aircraft cleaner and volunteering for criminal jobs on a Telegram group after failing his GCSEs and becoming obsessed with the gangster lifestyle portrayed on the game Grand Theft Auto. Reeves brought in his former college friends, Rose, who already had criminal convictions and Mensah. Asmena, a Lithuanian living with his drug-addicted mother in a squat in Roehampton, South London also volunteered. On Tuesday Rose, Mensah and Asmena were convicted of aggravated arson after an Old Bailey trial. Reeves pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to the same offence and agreeing to accept money from a foreign intelligence service. All five men now face the prospect of being jailed when they are sentenced at a later date. Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command slammed the group for joining a Wagner plot. He aid 'the ringleaders - Earl and Reeves - willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state'. 'Those involved showed little or no regard for the potential impact of their actions on the UK's wider security. Seemingly motivated by the promise of money, they were prepared to commit criminal acts on behalf of Russia.' he added. The Government insists the National Security Act 2023 is making the UK an even harder target for 'hostile states' like Russia to target. It includes a new set of offences, measures and investigatory powers, which are used to clampdown. In April, Security Minister Dan Jarvis announced Russia would be placed on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, meaning anyone working for the Russian state in the UK will need to declare what they are doing or risk committing an offence under the National Security Act 2023. Speaking after the sentencing of Earl's group of mercenaries, Mr Jarvis added: 'Another proxy group acting for Russia has been brought to justice, thanks to the work of our criminal justice system. 'National security is the foundation of our Plan for Change, and these convictions should serve as a clear warning to those seeking to undermine our national security or the safety of the UK.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Jurassic World Rebirth' Refreshingly Ditches an Annoying Blockbuster Trend
If you're headed to see Jurassic World Rebirth over the long Fourth of July weekend, here's some good news: The movie is breezy, fast-paced, and just barely over two hours long. Technically, the movie has a runtime of 2 hours and 14 minutes, but it feels much quicker than that. (Compare this against the last several Jurassic movies, which pushed things much closer to 2.5 hours.) But in addition to being a self-contained, tightly-scripted adventure movie, Jurassic World Rebirth also avoids a very frustrating tend among modern blockbusters. Without spoiling everything about the beginning and middle of the movie, you may want to know that the ending of the film has an actual ending and there's no post-credits scene at World Rebirth utterly ditches the post-credits scene trend and instead leaves the events of the movie to speak for themselves. Because the film is all about a team of mercenaries — led by Scarlett Johansson's Zora — trying to retrieve dinosaur DNA to create life-saving drugs, the ending of the movie leaves us with the remaining members of the team, escaping to safety. Yes, there is a family who is in jeopardy in the movie (classic Jurassic plot device), and yes, rest assured, they are all fine by the movie's conclusion. If anyone is worried about Jurassic World Rebirth being too dark or too downbeat, the truth is this is one of the more uplifting installments in the franchise. The dinosaur thrills are appropriately nail-biting, but this isn't actually a horror movie. If there was never another sequel to the Jurassic franchise after Rebirth, that's okay. The movie doesn't need a sequel, doesn't have a post-credits sequence setting anything up, and is also smartly light on too many references to the previous movies. If there's any nostalgia in this film, it's simply that it's an exciting dinosaur flick, full of wonder, action, and a storyline that knows when it's time to wrap things up.'Jurassic World Rebirth' Refreshingly Ditches an Annoying Blockbuster Trend first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 2, 2025
Al Jazeera
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US mercenaries linked to GHF fund 'engaged in horrific crimes'
US mercenaries linked to GHF fund 'engaged in horrific crimes' Quotable Annelle Sheline, a former US State Department official, says the US is complicit in crimes against Palestinians and violating international law alongside Israel. Video Duration 01 minutes 02 seconds 01:02 Video Duration 00 minutes 48 seconds 00:48 Video Duration 01 minutes 05 seconds 01:05 Video Duration 00 minutes 59 seconds 00:59 Video Duration 01 minutes 06 seconds 01:06 Video Duration 01 minutes 29 seconds 01:29 Video Duration 01 minutes 00 seconds 01:00
Washington Post
08-07-2025
- Washington Post
UK court convicts 3 men over arson attack authorities say was organized by Russian intelligence
LONDON — A British jury convicted three men on Tuesday of arson in an attack on an east London warehouse that was storing equipment destined for Ukraine. Authorities said Russian intelligence was behind the plot. Prosecutors said the March 20, 2024, attack was planned by agents of Russia's Wagner mercenary group , acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence. The British government has deemed Wagner a terrorist organization .
Geek Tyrant
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
What The Hell Is Distortus Rex? Jurassic World's Mutant Donosaur Explained — GeekTyrant
The Jurassic franchise has never shied away from tampering with DNA, but Jurassic World Rebirth cranks the dials past logic, ethics, and even biology with its new apex nightmare… the Distortus Rex. This isn't just another hybrid dinosaur in a long line of "what-if-we-gave-it-more-teeth" experiments. Distortus is a mutant abomination birthed from InGen's hubris and desperation. We first meet this creature in the opening minutes of Rebirth, during a chilling flashback to a containment failure at an InGen research facility. It's montrous, it's violent, and it wastes no time grabbing a poor soul and vanishing into the darkness. That's your first taste. But the real story picks up 17 years later, when a squad of mercenaries and scientists land on the island to recover valuable genetic material believed to hold life-saving medical potential. Naturally, their noble cause turns into a bloody survival horror. As the crew ventures deeper into the ruins of InGen's forgotten experiments, the mystery of Distortus Rex unravels. What they're dealing with is a full-blown genetic disaster. Distortus Rex began as a modified T-Rex. According to the film's unfolding exposition, 'With DNA fragments from other animals introduced into the genome, the Distortus Rex became a mutant monstrosity, which was even harder to contain.' How monstrous are we talking? This thing stands 26 feet tall, stretches 47 feet long, and weighs over 20,000 pounds. This beast has distorted features that look more like an alien breed than real dinosaurs. It's unsettling to look at. The visual effects team clearly went all-in on making Distortus Rex feel totally unnatural. The thing carries itself with a horrifying elegance, an apex predator reimagined as a walking science experiment gone feral. Naturally, Distortus Rex becomes the final boss of the film, barreling into the climax with all the subtlety of a freight train. Whether you love the franchise for its grounded cautionary tale or its chaotic dino mayhem, Jurassic World Rebirth is dead set on pushing the franchise into darker, more monstrous territory. Jurassic World Rebirth stomps into theaters July 2, 2025.
