Three Bulgarians have been found guilty of spying for Russia in Britain and across continental Europe as part of one of the largest Russian espionage rings ever uncovered by the British police. During a three-year period, the group, led by a Bulgarian I.T. specialist, Orlin Roussev, 47, conducted six operations targeting journalists and critics of the Russian government, prosecutors said, adding they also carried out surveillance at a U.S. military site in Germany, where they believed Ukrainian soldiers were being trained. “This case is a clear example of the increasing amount of state threat casework we are dealing with in the U.K. — particularly linked to Russia,” said Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command. “It also highlights a relatively new phenomenon whereby espionage is being ‘outsourced’ by certain states.”Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, all from London, were found guilty by a jury on Friday of being part of a group of six Bulgarians who spied for Russia between 2020 and 2023.

Source: The Times March 07, 2025 23:08 UTC