An accused ‘gang member’ who arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme is facing extradition for storing rocket launchers and anti-tank grenades, a court has heard.
Mykola Kubrak, 29, is said to have carried out the offences in Ukraine between September 2021 and February 9, 2022.
An arrest warrant issued by Ukraine accuses ‘fugitive’ Kubrak of committing various acts of extortion by use of violence as part of an organised criminal group.
He is further alleged to have helped store two rocket launchers, anti-tank grenades and converted pistols.
Kubrak is understood to have left Ukraine in February 2022 after his father was made aware of the allegations against him, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He then applied to come to the UK via the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme in April 2022 before arriving with his wife several months later.
Launched by the UK Government under Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister, in March 2022, the scheme enabled British residents and citizens to sponsor Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members to find safety and refuge in the UK following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
As of February 1, 2024, an estimated 142,000 Ukrainians arrived in the UK under the sponsorship scheme, according to the Local Government Association.
Accused gang member Mykola Kubrak, 29 who arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, is facing extradition for storing rocket launchers and anti-tank grenades, Westminster Magistrates’ Court has heard (file image)
Launched by the UK Government under Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister, in March 2022, the scheme enabled British residents and citizens to sponsor Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members to find safety and refuge in the UK following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia
Kubrak was working for a car hire business when he was arrested on July 2, 2025 in connection with the warrant issued by Ukraine.
Appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court today for a bail hearing, the 29-year-old was supported by his wife, a qualified dental nurse currently working in London.
Camila Ferraro, for the Ukrainian government, said the offences included ‘extortion with violence by an organised criminal group, unlawful appropriation of a vehicle, carrying or storing firearms or ammunition without a permit and stealing an official document.
‘It is alleged that the requested person and others were recruited to a criminal gang who then engaged in specific acts of extortion by violence and theft.’
Ms Ferraro added that Kubrak and other gang members visited a man’s home on September 28, 2021, threatening violence and demanding cash.
She said that the group then proceeded to ‘seize equipment belonging to the victim’ that had a value of up to £19,744.
Then, Kubrak is said to have ‘purchased and stored military supplies of firearms’, with Ms Ferraro adding: ‘During an organised search of the premises in February 2022 police recovered two rocket-propelled-grenades (and) anti-tank grenades.
‘Lastly, on another occasion on 10 November 2021, Kubrak and others arranged a meeting with the named individual at a restaurant in the early hours of the morning.
Camila Ferraro, for the Ukrainian government, said the offences included ‘extortion with violence by an organised criminal group, unlawful appropriation of a vehicle, carrying or storing firearms or ammunition without a permit and stealing an official document (Pictured: Westminster Magistrates’ Court, file image)
‘When he arrived, Kubrak and another dragged him into a nearby car and threatened him with violence and demanded a payment amounting to around £1,094.’
The prosecutor said Kubrak left Ukraine via Romania on February 9, 2022 after his father was ‘informed he was a suspect.
Adding that Kubrak had undertaken ‘clearly violent and dangerous offences’, she describe the Ukranian national as ‘a fugitive on the basis of the warrant’.
But Calla Randall, for Kubrak, said he was ‘under instruction from those higher up in the organised criminal group’.
She remarked that it was unclear ‘he was anything more than an extra body that was present at these various incidents’ and had not been ‘at at the top of that hierarchy’.
Ms Randall added: ‘The rocket launchers that were found in his home – the circumstances of how those were obtained or where they came from is not known.
‘Ukraine is of course a war-zone, so it is not quite the same – in my submission – as finding rocket launchers in a flat in London.’
Ms Randall also explained that Kubrak had established a life in the UK after ‘moving here via the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme’.
Pictured: Ukrainians flee to the west of Ukraine and to Poland by train from Odessa to Przemysl at the railway station in Odessa, Ukraine, April 25, 2022
Kubrak is said to have undertaken the application process ‘in his own name’ in April 2022, before eventually moving to the UK in July of that year.
Disputing his status as a fugitive, Ms Randall told the court: ‘The question is would he really have completed that process using his own names if he was aware of these proceedings?’
Ms Randall asked Kubrak to be released on bail with stringent conditions.
But District Judge Kevin Gregor told Kubrak that he would remain in custody.
Explaining his decision, the judge added: ‘I’m told that you left the Ukrainian jurisdiction on the very day your father was informed that the police had an interest in you.
‘I doubt that’s a coincidence.
‘There is a substantial risk that if you were allowed your liberty, even with conditions imposed, you would seek to put distance between yourself and this jurisdiction and these proceedings.’
Kubrak will return to Westminster Magistrates Court for a further hearing on August 11.
