Six Russian citizens attempted to assassinate weapons dealer Emilian Gebrev & exploded four of his Bulgarian depots, Sofia says
The Bulgarian prosecutor’s office has announced that it suspects six Russians were responsible for four explosions at military depots used by arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, with the same people accused of trying to kill him.
Speaking on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the country’s chief prosecutor, Siika Mileva, revealed that there have been a number of explosions in Bulgarian warehouses over the last decade. Furthermore, she noted that some of the storage facilities were housing weapons supposedly intended for Georgia and Ukraine.
“There are certain similarities in four explosions at ammunition factories,” Mileva said, according to TASS. “Based on the data of the investigation, a reasonable assumption can be made that there is a connection between the explosions in Bulgaria, the attempted poisoning of three Bulgarian citizens, and explosions in other countries.”
Also on rt.com No evidence of Russian involvement in 2014 ammunition depot blast, Czech president says as relations with Moscow hit crisis pointIn particular, Mileva claimed that the country’s authorities had evidence of six Russian citizens being on Bulgarian soil at the time of the explosions and an attempted assassination of Emilian Gebrev.
The attempt on Gebrev’s life was carried out between April 28 and May 4, 2015, the prosecutor’s office says, while the bombings took place over the span of nine years – November 2011, two cases in 2015, and one in 2020.
“Evidence is being gathered that Russian citizens committed a grave crime,” she said.
Bulgaria’s accusation comes after Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced on April 17 that the country’s intelligence services had come to the conclusion that Russian agents were responsible for two explosions in Vrbětice in 2014. The Kremlin has denied all accusations of Moscow’s involvement, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling them “inflammatory and unfriendly.”
Also on rt.com Czech Republic set to order all but 5 of Russia’s diplomats out of country in escalating tit-for-tat over spying & sabotage claimsA week later, Czech President Milos Zeman said that the accusations against Moscow were not backed by evidence.
Following the claims from Sofia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that the Bulgarians are attempting to “outdo” their Czech allies, after Prague “suddenly remembered” about the events of 2014.
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