A Ukrainian man has admitted carrying out a series of Islamophobic graffiti attacks targeting mosques, a Muslim school and Islamic organisations in east London.
Illia Bilyk, 21, pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates’ Court yesterday to five counts of racially and religiously aggravated criminal damage following attacks in Leyton and Stratford in January 2025.
Three Muslim venues were targeted on January 23: Stratford Islamic Association on Brydges Road, Al-Birr Mosque on Church Road and Leyton Jamia Masjid on High Road.
Two days later, Noor Ul Islam Primary School on Dawlish Road and the Islamic Shariah Council on Francis Road were also targeted.
Bilyk, of Field Road, Forest Gate, will be sentenced at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on October 19.
Chief Superintendent Rhona Hunt said: “We recognise that these incidents caused significant distress within Muslim communities across east London last year and that they continue to cause concern.
“Anti-Muslim hate crime and Islamophobia have absolutely no place in London. We are committed to tackling hate crime while supporting and reassuring our communities.”
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
Alleged Russian connection
Separate reporting by the BBC and campaign group HOPE not hate has raised questions about whether Bilyk was acting on instructions from others.
According to the BBC, Bilyk told police that he had been recruited through Telegram by a Russian-speaking individual who directed him towards locations to target and paid him after the attacks.
The BBC and HOPE not hate have linked the case to an alleged Russian network which they say used Telegram to recruit people in Britain to carry out acts of vandalism and provocation.
Their investigation claims the network operated an online group called Direct Action UK which presented itself as a British far-right organisation.
Images of some of the vandalism carried out by Bilyk were subsequently shared in a Direct Action UK Telegram group, according to the investigation.
The BBC has also reported links between the network and other criminal incidents in Britain, including arson attacks against properties associated with former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Two Ukrainian men, Roman Lavrynovych and Stanislav Carpiuc, were jailed in June for conspiring to carry out those attacks.
Lavrynovych also admitted spraying Islamophobic graffiti on an Islamic building in south London.
The BBC and HOPE not hate investigation further alleges that a Russian diplomat was a member of the Direct Action UK Telegram group and reported similarities between his details and those associated with an anonymous account involved in the network.
