Minister of Justice:Two Ukrainians Accused of Espionage in Bulgaria Remain in Custody

The two Ukrainian nationals, Oleksiy Timofeev and Roman Zozulya, who were detained on espionage charges near a military site in Bulgaria in January, are still in the country.

Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov announced this in response to a question from Kostadin Stoyanov, an MP from the Vazrazhdane party.

Two Former Military Officers from Ukraine Arrested in Bulgaria and Charged with Espionage

According to the MP, classified information about the Rasovo compressor station near Montana was found in the men’s possession when they were detained. The facility is used to increase pressure in the Bulgarian section of the TurkStream gas pipeline.

Addressing MPs, Minister Naydenov clarified that both Ukrainian nationals remain in custody:

“At present, both individuals are in custody. The remand measure of detention pending trial was imposed by Sofia City Court and was subsequently subject to judicial review. According to the latest publicly available information, the measure was upheld by the Sofia Court of Appeal. A check of the Justice Ministry’s case management system found that no requests concerning these individuals had been received under the procedures for international legal assistance. As regards your question about possible involvement by representatives of the Ukrainian state, we have no such information.”