A journalist targeted by a Russian spy ring revealed that the group had a list of “assassination methods” intended to kill him, methods he described as “beyond any imagination.”
Christo Grozev told the BBC that the group “fantasized” about his death, discussing plans that included using a sledgehammer and even a “suicide bomber” to target him.
The Bulgarian journalist, known for publishing several exposés on Russia alongside colleague Roman Dobrokhotov, recounted multiple incidents indicating that they were being tracked across Europe, with agents “breathing down our necks.”
His revelations followed the conviction last week of three Bulgarian nationals for spying for Russia in one of the largest foreign intelligence operations uncovered in the UK.
Since the court case, Austrian police have reassured Grozev’s children that such a threat will not happen again. He admitted that his family was initially “shocked” by the extent of the plot against him.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House programme, he described the “list of imagined assassination methods” as reading “like a film noir.”
One of the plans discussed by the spies involved hiring an Islamic State “suicide bomber” to detonate near him in the street.
Another plot included kidnapping him and “sending me to a torture camp in Syria,” while a different operative wearing a latex mask resembling him would board a flight to Russia, where he would be “arrested in front of cameras for full deniability.”
Yet another planned method involved “bludgeoning me to death using a sledgehammer,” he said, adding that “the fantasy and imagination of these wannabe spies is beyond any imagination.”
Grozev noted that past failures by Russian intelligence have led to an increased reliance on “outsourced” non-professional spies.
He emphasized that even though these individuals were “non-professional,” their intent to kill remained very real. He warned that such “wannabe spies” lacked the experience to de-escalate situations, making them particularly dangerous.
Grozev expressed gratitude for being alive, given how long he and his colleague had been tracked by these spies and the level of funding behind the operation. He revealed that while they expected Russian operatives to be monitoring them, they had not anticipated EU citizens spying on their activities.
His and Dobrokhotov’s investigative work has uncovered Russia’s involvement in the nerve agent attacks on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018 and the poisoning of then-opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020.
Jan Marsalek, who directed the spy ring on behalf of Russian intelligence services, identified Grozev as a prime target. In a December 2020 message, he wrote that Grozev was the “lead investigator in the Navalny case.”
In another message to Orlin Roussev, the man running the UK-based spy cell from a former guest house in Norfolk, Marsalek noted: “Personally, I find Grozev not to be a very valuable target, but apparently, Putin seriously hates him.”
Following this, the spy cell tracked Grozev and Dobrokhotov across Europe, spying on them in hotels, planes, and private residences.
They also discussed kidnapping and killing the journalists. One plan considered smuggling Dobrokhotov out of the UK by boat from the Norfolk coast and delivering him to Russia—a move he believed would have led to his death.
In January 2023, just a month before UK police arrested members of the spy ring, Dobrokhotov was warned that leaving the country could be dangerous.
He later realized that the Bulgarian spies had followed him so closely that they had even seen his mobile phone PIN code while he was on a flight.
Dobrokhotov believes the arrests send a strong signal to Moscow.
“Vladimir Putin doesn’t understand messages in words, only in actions,” he said.
He argued that Putin recognizes forceful actions, like Ukraine receiving long-range missiles, and understands consequences when his spies are arrested and given lengthy prison sentences.
The journalist also suggested that Russia’s reliance on Bulgarian spies with ordinary jobs reflects the decline of its espionage network following the mass expulsion of professional spies from the West. However, he warned that such spy cells remain highly dangerous.
Speaking about his motivations, Dobrokhotov expressed his determination to change Russia, stating he does not want to live in a country that “kills people just because they’re doing journalism or criticizing the government.”
He believes that as long as he and others continue their work, Putin will see them as a threat.
“We are in a situation where only some of us will survive—either we will, or Vladimir Putin and his team will,” he said.
On Friday, Vanya Gaberova, 30, Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, were found guilty of conspiracy to spy. Two other members, Roussev, 47, and Biser Dzhambazov, 43, had previously admitted the same charge, while a sixth Bulgarian, Ivan Stoyanov, 34, pleaded guilty to spying.
Ivanova was also convicted of possessing multiple false identity documents.
The methods used by the spy ring resembled those “you would expect to see in a spy novel,” said Metropolitan Police Commander Dominic Murphy.
BBC
