Court Reveals Bulgarian Spies' Plot to Target Ukrainian Soldiers and US Base

The Bulgarians accused of espionage on behalf of Russia allegedly planned to attack Ukrainian soldiers, according to a report by the "Financial Times," citing sources from the ongoing trial. The military personnel they targeted were undergoing training on complex air defense systems at a U.S. base. The plot, involving a U.S.-owned military facility near Stuttgart, Germany, was said to have been in the works between October 2022 and their arrest in February of the following year.

The case involves three Bulgarian citizens residing in the UK—Katrin Ivanova, Vanya Gaberova, and Tihomir Ivanchev—who are charged with conspiring to commit espionage. Prosecutors claim they acted under the direction of Jan Marsalek, an Austrian national with alleged links to Russian intelligence. Marsalek reportedly gave instructions on how to intercept and monitor mobile data from military personnel at the U.S. base, where Ukrainian soldiers were training on Patriot air defense systems.

Orlin Rusev, the group's leader, is accused of receiving orders from Marsalek. The court heard that Rusev, Ivanova, and Biser Dzhambazov filmed security features at the base, including cameras, fences, and infrared sensors. Additionally, jurors were shown Telegram messages in which Marsalek cautioned Rusev to be careful, noting that "the Germans are nervous at the moment about Russian intelligence activities on the ground."

Earlier in the case, it was revealed that the group had been involved in monitoring Kirill Kachur, a Russian citizen later designated by Moscow as a "foreign agent." Ivanchev and Ivanova reportedly met with a woman identified as a Russian spy known as "Red Sparrow" during a mission in Montenegro in early 2022.