UK: 5 Bulgarian Nationals Charged With Spying for Russia

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Facts

• The UK's Crown Prosecution Service revealed on Thursday that three men and two women suspected of spying for Russia will face charges of conspiracy to commit espionage.¹
• The five Bulgarian nationals are due to appear for a first hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, where they will be charged with 'conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy.'²
• Accused of offenses that took place between August 2020 and February 2023, the alleged spies – living in London and Norfolk – were identified as Orlin Roussev, 45; Bizer Dzhambazov, 41; Katrin Ivanova, 31; Ivan Stoyanov, 31; and Vanya Gaberova, 29.³
• Roussev, Dzhambazov, and Ivanova were previously arrested in February and charged with possessing false documents 'with improper intention,' allegedly including fake passports and ID cards for the UK and other European countries.⁴
• The five are accused of having worked in an operational spy cell for the Russian security services. Alleged activities include monitoring targets, participating in operations in the UK and Europe, as well as gathering intelligence for Moscow.⁵
• More than 400 suspected Russian spies were expelled from Europe last year, according to the head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, Ken McCallum.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Guardian, ³Reuters, ⁴Independent, ⁵BBC News and ⁶CBS.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Euronews. The charges are another blow to Moscow's agent networks in Europe. Since hundreds of Russian spies were kicked out of their embassies across Europe following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has been deprived of its core agent infrastructure. To infiltrate Europe, the Russian regime must now take greater risks by relying on ordinary Russian citizens and foreigners. The case of the five Bulgarian nationals shows that Russian intelligence services are running out of human resources for their espionage activities.
• Narrative B, as provided by Ft. This case may seem spectacular and show that the UK is cracking down on espionage, but it's worth taking a closer look. The unprofessional actions of the Bulgarian nationals indicate that they were by no means top agents of Russia's foreign intelligence service. The West has dealt several blows to Moscow's spy network in recent years, and the current case underscores the threat that Britain faces from within. However, with the West and Russia engaged in an undeclared war, espionage is more likely on the increase rather than on the decrease.