site.btaBulgaria Detects Two Russians as Deep-Cover "Illegals", Bars Them from EU for 5 Years

Two Russian nationals, who posed as Bulgarians but were detected as Russian spies, have been barred from entering Bulgaria, effective February 26, 2024, by order of Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), SANS said in a press release on Monday.

The Russian nationals were named as Vladimir Nikolayevich Gorochkin, born in Kaliningrad on December 28, 1984, and Tatyana Anatoliyevna Gorochkina, born in Khvatovka, Saratov Oblast, on March 9, 1986.

The two individuals were barred from entering and staying in the territory of EU Member States for a period of five years as a coercive administrative measure under the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act because there is reason to believe that they are acting against Bulgaria's security, the press release specified.

The Gorochkins resided in Bulgaria during an ascertained period, using personal documents falsely identifying them as Bulgarian nationals Denis Rashkov and Diana Rashkova.

According to information acquired by SANS, Vladimir Gorochkin and Tatyana Gorochkina are "illegals", i.e. assets deployed by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) in an operation targeting penetration by means of false foreign identities.

The main purpose of the presence of the Gorochkins in Bulgaria was to obtain the requisite Bulgarian identity papers and build plausible life stories authenticating these papers, so as to be able to use them subsequently for intelligence gathering outside Bulgaria.