Bulgaria bans from EU two Russian alleged spies posing as Bulgarians

The State Agency for National Security said on February 26 that it had imposed a ban on entry and residence in European Union member states on two Russian citizens, posing as Bulgarians to get identity documents to use for espionage outside Bulgaria.

The ban was imposed on Vladimir Nikolayevich Gorochkin, 39, and Tatiana Anatolievna Gorochkina, 37, as there was evidence that they were acting against Bulgaria’s national security, the agency said.

The two had been posing as Bulgarian citizens Denis Rashkov and Diana Rashkova.

The agency said that the two were working for Russian intelligence and sought to carry out espionage using foreign identities.

The main purpose of their presence in Bulgaria was to obtain the necessary Bulgarian identity documents and credible biographical data confirming the authenticity of the documents, which they would later use for intelligence activities outside the territory of Bulgaria, the agency said.

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