In the UK, a man who confessed to spying for Russia discussed plans to harm a journalist who exposed Russian connections to the 2018 Salisbury attack, as revealed in court.
Orlin Roussev reportedly exchanged messages in 2021 about targeting Christo Grozev, an investigative journalist for the ‘Bellingcat’ group from Bulgaria.
Roussev, 46, from Great Yarmouth, and Biser Dzhambazov, 43, from London, have admitted to conspiring to spy. Their guilty pleas were made public for the first time on Thursday.
At the Old Bailey, jurors were informed about these convictions at the beginning of a trial involving three other alleged spies.
Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, all from London, deny the charge of conspiracy to spy.
Ms Ivanova also denies having multiple false identity documents.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the court that Roussev and Dzhambazov had already admitted to being part of the same espionage activity.
The three defendants on trial are accused of spying for Russia between 2020 and 2023, described as “an enemy of the UK” by Ms Morgan.
She added that they aimed to gather information on various targets, individuals, and locations of interest to the Russian state.
Messages between the defendants indicated they worked as a “team” under Roussev’s direction, who in turn received instructions from Jan Marsalek, acting as an intermediary for Russian intelligence services.
The court learned that Marsalek, an Austrian national, could be considered a Russian agent.
Roussev’s Great Yarmouth guesthouse was found to be equipped with spying technology.
Throughout the alleged conspiracy, the group had access to various technical equipment for spying, including mobile phones, hard drives, SIM cards, recording devices, drones, radios, and identity documents, as well as advanced surveillance technology.
Ms Morgan described the defendants as “sophisticated in their methodology”, engaging in surveillance, using false identities, and advanced technology to gather information.
She stated that the defendants were paid significant amounts of money for their actions and were aware that their activities were for the benefit of Russia.
The prosecution will focus on six “key operations” carried out by the defendants, involving surveillance of targeted individuals or locations.
The evidence presented indicated high-level espionage involving deceit, with the defendants filming and gathering information on real targets.
Ms Morgan mentioned the use of female defendants as a “honey trap” to extract information from targets.
The six ‘key operations’
Jurors were informed that journalist Christo Grozev was targeted in one of the operations [Reuters]
Operation 1
This operation involved targeting Mr Grozev, who exposed Russian links to the 2018 Salisbury attack.
In 2021, Jan Marsalek and Roussev discussed various options regarding Mr Grozev, including placing team members next to him on flights.
They also considered stealing his belongings, taking him to the Russian Embassy, kidnapping him, or even killing him.
Operation 2
This operation allegedly targeted Roman Dobrokhotov in November 2022, a Russian investigative journalist.
Dobrokhotov had to leave Russia after being arrested and losing his passport.
Operation 3
This operation targeted Bergey Ryskaliyev in November 2021, a Kazakhstan national and former politician.
Huyó al Reino Unido donde más tarde se le otorgó asilo.
Hubo y hay un motivo claro para que Rusia desarrolle relaciones con Kazajistán, según declaró el tribunal.
Los fiscales dijeron que apuntar a un disidente político en nombre de Kazajistán cultiva esas relaciones al proporcionar a Kazajistán lo que podría considerar como ayuda.
Operación 4
Supuestamente planeando actividades disruptivas en la embajada de Kazajistán en Londres en septiembre de 2022.
El tribunal escuchó que el plan era hacer una demostración fuera de la embajada – una “protesta falsa” – para crear una apariencia de que tenían inteligencia genuina sobre los responsables, la cual luego pasarían a la inteligencia de Kazajistán para intentar ganar favor en nombre de Rusia.
Operación 5
Supuesta vigilancia en Patch Barracks, una base militar de EE. UU. en Stuttgart a finales de 2022.
Esta es una base aérea militar estadounidense, que según los jurados, los acusados creían que era un lugar donde las fuerzas ucranianas estaban siendo entrenadas en el uso de armas superficie-aire, justo en el momento de la invasión rusa en Ucrania.
Los fiscales dicen que el plan de los acusados era atacar la base aérea utilizando una variedad de tecnología altamente sofisticada diseñada para capturar inteligencia clave sobre los presentes en la base.
Operación 6
Se dijo a los jurados que este plan apuntaba a un hombre llamado Kirill Kachur.
Él es un nacional ruso que pasó tiempo en Montenegro y que trabajaba para el Comité de Investigación de Rusia, pero dejó el país en 2021 y fue designado como “agente extranjero” por Rusia en noviembre de 2023.