Bulgarian woman accused in UK spy scandal of stealing Ukrainian soldiers’ mobile numbers

Katrin Ivanova, one of the Bulgarians in the UK spy ring, is accused of stealing mobile phone numbers of Ukrainian soldiers, as revealed during the trial.

The 33-year-old Bulgarian has been described by prosecutor Alison Morgan as the most technically skilled member of the spy group and was needed to organise planned surveillance in Stuttgart, Germany.

According to the British prosecution, Ivanova stole the mobile phone numbers of Ukrainian soldiers who were undergoing training on the Patriot air defense systems in Stuttgart.

In court, Morgan highlighted a message allgedly sent by the leader of the spy ring, Orlin Roussev, to Jan Marsalek, a Russian agent believed to be based in Moscow. The message states that Rusev wanted to send to Stuttgart “the minion who will operate the IMSI”, a sophisticated device able to mop up thousands of mobile phone numbers from devices in close proximity.

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In court, Katrin Ivanova denied being able to operate the such a device and sais she had never even heard of it until after her arrest in February 2023.

Prosecutors also highlighted a message that her partner, Bizer Dzhambazov, 43, had sent her in October 2022 asking her to bring “the big IMSI for me to be able to prepare it and set with the laptop”. Ivanova acknowledged receiving the message, but said she did not understand it.

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Ivanova went to Stuttgart with Dzhambazov on what the prosecution say was a reconnaissance mission between 31 October and 3 November 2022, according to the British prosecutor's office.They took photographs and video footage at a military base.

Ivanova acknowledges having seen surveillance equipment in the flat she lived in with Dzhambazov in Harrow, north-west London. That included a spy camera hidden in a soft drink bottle.

She is one of three Bulgarians living in the UK accused of spying on behalf of Russia between August 2020 and February 2023. Ivanova denies the charges, claiming she was a victim of mental abuse by Dzhambazov, whom she had known since she was 17 years old.

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After the group’s arrest, Katrin says she was "heartbroken" when she learned that Dzhambazov had been in a relationship with Vanya Gaberova for a year and a half.

"He betrayed me," Ivanova said in the courtroom, claiming Dzhambazov gave her instructions for spying operations under the orders of Rusev and Marsalek, but she never knew the true objectives of these operations.

The prosecution rejected Katrin Ivanova's claims that she was a victim in the relationship and argued that she, like Biser Dzhambazov, had a parallel relationship. After initially denying it, the Ivanova eventually admitted to having had a relationship with another man for 18 months.