Contents tagged with Bulgaria
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Bulgaria sends first shipment of armored personnel carriers to Ukraine
The first shipment of armored personnel carriers promised by Bulgaria has already been sent to Ukraine, according to Bulgarian news agency BVT.
The first vehicle was loaded onto a flatbed rail car from the base of the Main Directorate of the Gendarmerie in Sofia and transported to the railway station in Novi Iskar.
This shipment primarily consists of interior ministry units dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, which were later assigned to the internal troops (now the gendarmerie) in the 1980s. …
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Bulgaria expels another Russian diplomat
Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry declared another employee of the Russian Embassy in Sofia persona non grata, Radio Liberty reports. His name has not been released.
The ministry noted that together with the expulsion of the diplomat, they appealed to the Russian authorities for assistance in "investigating explosions in Bulgarian arms depots, destruction of physical evidence in the fire and poisoning of three Bulgarian citizens in order to identify and bring to justice those who committed it."
The …
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Six Russians suspected of explosions at ammunition depots in Bulgaria
The Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office is gathering evidence to establish the possible involvement of six Russian citizens in four explosions at ammunition depots from 2011 to 2020. The investigation is checking the scenario according to which the explosions in 2011, 2015 and 2020 targeted weapons that businessman Emilian Gebrev was planning to send to Georgia and Ukraine, said the spokeswoman of the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office Siika Mileva.
According to Mileva, the exact cause of the explosions …
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Several Bulgarian military officials detained on suspicion of spying for Russia
Several Bulgarian military officials have been detained on suspicion of spying for Russia, reports Bulgarian media. According to the reports, searches and detentions took place on March 18 in Sofia and Pernik. One suspect was caught on the Trakia highway from Sofia to Plovdiv as he was leaving the Bulgarian capital.
According to preliminary data, there are no Russians among the detained. Bulgarian media reported that the suspects are military officials who had access to classified information. …
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Russia expels Bulgarian diplomat
The Russian Foreign Ministry has handed the Bulgarian Ambassador a note declaring a persona non grata an employee of the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Moscow.
Assistant military attaché Mitko Borisov is required to leave Russia in the next 72 hours.
"This step was taken by the Russian side in response to Bulgaria's unjustified decision to expel the military, air force and naval attaché at the Russian Embassy in Sofia in December," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On …
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Bulgaria expels sixth Russian diplomat over espionage
Bulgaria has declared persona non grata a Russian military attache who works at the Russian Embassy in Sofia. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the diplomat must leave the country within 72 hours.
According to the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office, he collected information that constitutes state secrets, in particular, about the number of U.S. troops stationed in Bulgaria.
According to the website of the Russian Embassy, the position of military attaché is occupied by Vasily …
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Bulgaria expels two Russian diplomats for espionage
Bulgaria expels two Russian diplomats as part of espionage case. They have been declared persona non grata and must leave the country within 72 hours, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, September 23.
The Foreign Ministry noted that the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria has been informed of the decision. Earlier, the Bulgarian prosecutor's office said that the Russians, whose names are not provided, have been engaged in espionage in Bulgaria since 2016. They collected information for …
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Russian opposition leader Navalny and Bulgarian businessman Gebrev poisoned with same substance
Doctors from the German Hospital Sharite, who are treating the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, contacted Bulgarian colleagues involved in the treatment of businessman Emelian Gebrev, who was poisoned in 2015 in Sofia. According to Der Spiegel, experts suggest that Navalny was exposed to a substance from the same family of organophosphates as Gebrev.
This family includes insecticides such as E605, as well as nerve toxins such as sarin and the even more potent drug Novichok, developed …
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Bulgaria to cut Russian gas purchases by half
Bulgaria, which imports nearly all of the gas it consumes from Russia, intends to obtain 50% of its gas from other sources by the end of the year, said Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, as cited by the Energy Ministry’s press service.
“As for natural gas, our country will continue working to diversify our sources and routes for the country,” said the minister. She added that “by the end of the year, 50% of the country’s consumption of natural gas will be diversified”, Interfax …
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Bulgaria expels two Russian diplomats for espionage
Bulgaria has notified the Russian Federation that it’s declaring two Russian diplomats persona non grata.
It is noted that the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry will expel a diplomat of the Russian Embassy and an employee of the Russian trade mission. The relevant notes were handed to the Russian Ambassador in Bulgaria, who was summoned to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry on January 24.
"Officers will leave the host country within the specified dates," the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria said on Facebook. …