A British man has admitted setting fire to a Ukrainian business in London while working for the Russian-based Wagner Group.
Dylan Earl pleaded guilty to orchestrating the arson attack at an industrial unit in Leyton, east London, on March 20.
He also admitted preparing an act of “serious violence” that could endanger the lives of the public.
Earl becomes the first person to be convicted under the National Security Act, which was introduced to target those working for hostile states within the UK.
The 20-year-old however denied assisting a foreign intelligence service and prosecutors said they would not be pursuing the charge.
At the Old Bailey on Friday, Earl, wearing a light blue shirt and dark tie, spoke only to confirm his name and enter guilty pleas to the charges.
The blaze at an industrial unit in Leyton hit Ukrainian-linked businesses owned by “Oddisey” and “Meest UK”.
It required 60 firefighters to bring it under control, and the alleged target of the fire is labelled as “Mr X” in the charges.
‘Activity intended to benefit Russia’
It was alleged by prosecutors that Earl was in contact with a handler in the Wagner Group before carrying out reconnaissance of targets “in relation to activity intended to benefit Russia”.
The Wagner Group, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash last summer, is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.
Prigozhin and his troops, who fought for Russia in the war on Ukraine, had staged a short-lived “thunder run” uprising against the authorities in Moscow in June last year.
Earl was remanded in custody by Mrs Justice Cheema Grubb until a sentencing hearing at a later date.
He was charged with the arson offence alongside Jakeem Rose, 22, Ugnius Asmena, 19, Jake Reeves, 23, Nii Mensah, 22, and Paul English, 61.
Mr Mensah and Mr English pleaded not guilty to the offence at the hearing on Friday, and Rose denied aggravated arson but admitted simple arson.
Mr Asmena and Mr Reeves were also alleged to be involved, but did not enter pleas today.
They will face a trial on June 2 next year at the Old Bailey.