Britain exposed group of Russian spies
British law enforcement officials have uncovered a network of Russian spies (photo: Getty Images)
In the UK, a group of individuals has been uncovered by law enforcement for allegedly collecting intelligence for Russia. According to authorities, the group consists of six individuals, all of whom are originally from Bulgaria, according to Sky News.
The group consists of four men and two women who are accused of conspiracy to commit espionage and collecting information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy, including from August 2020 to February 2023, as reported by the police.
Scotland Yard added that this information was allegedly collected to cause harm to the security and interests of the state.
Recently, the sixth suspect, Bulgarian citizen Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, was charged with allegedly spying for Russia.
Ivanchev, who has been living in Acton, west London, has been remanded in custody and is due before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. The 37-year-old was arrested on 7 February as part of an ongoing investigation led by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.
It is also noted that he was released on bail, and on Tuesday, charges were brought against him.
"A sixth suspect was identified and arrested as a result of inquiries made following the previous five arrests in this investigation, and working with the Crown Prosecution Service, a charge has now been brought," said Dominic Murphy, who heads the counter-terrorism unit.
The other defendants - three men and two women - are accused of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023 and have previously appeared at the Old Bailey.
They are Orlin Roussev, 46, Bizer Dzhambazov, 42, Katrin Ivanova, 32, Ivan Stoyanov, 32, and Vanya Gaberova, 29.
Their trial, which is expected to last four months, is due to begin in October.
Russian spies in European countries
Recently, the European Parliament initiated an investigation into previously disclosed information regarding possible cooperation between MEP Tetiana Zhdanok and the Russian Federal Security Service.
Additionally, Polish Internal Security Agency officers arrested a man who was acting on behalf of Russian special services.
On February 20, the Estonian authorities announced the successful exposure of a hybrid operation by Russian special services. As part of the criminal investigation, 10 individuals were detained.
