Bulgaria bans two suspected Russian spies from entering the EU

Bulgarian authorities on Monday imposed an entry ban on two Russian citizens suspected of espionage for Moscow's foreign intelligence service.

Bulgaria's national security agency identified the two as Vladimir Nikolayevich Gorochkin, 39, and Tatiana Anatolievna Gorochkina, 37, and banned them from entering European Union member states for a period of five years.

The couple had until recently lived undetected in Bulgaria under the aliases Denis Rashkov and Diana Rashkova, the agency said in a statement. The statement indicated that they were no longer in Bulgaria, but did not give further details on when they left the country or indicate where they were believed to be currently.

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According to the agency, the Russians were part of an operation orchestrated by Moscow's Foreign Intelligence Service aimed at infiltrating foreign countries using false identities. Their mission in the EU member country was reportedly to obtain authentic Bulgarian identity documents and credible biographical data confirming their authenticity, which they could then use to carry out intelligence activities outside Bulgaria.

Last September, five Bulgarians living in the United Kingdom were accused of spying for Russia. The three men and two women were charged with “conspiring to collect information intended to be useful directly or indirectly to an enemy,” specifically Russia, between August 2020 and February 2023.

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In 2022, Bulgaria expelled 70 Russian diplomatic staff in a move that severely strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, which were close allies during the communist era. This is the largest number of Russian diplomats expelled by Bulgaria, a member of the European Union and NATO.

Bulgaria has strongly backed Western sanctions against Moscow since Russia launched its war against Ukraine.