Arms dealer Emilian Gebrev is “100% sure” that Russian operatives were behind an explosion and subsequent fire at one of his depots in the country on Sunday.

“There is no way this could be an accident, there was nothing in the building that could have detonated without outside interference,” Emilian Gebrev said in a telephone interview with The Guardian.

• Fire breaks out at ammunition depot, no casualties reported
  
• Fire at the ammunition depot near Karnobat has been completely extinguished
  

It is the fifth time in recent years that blasts have occurred at facilities belonging to Emco, Gebrev’s arms company. Bulgarian prosecutors have linked previous attacks to Russian operatives, the Guardian writes.

Gebrev fell into a coma in 2015 and western authorities and intelligence agencies believe he was poisoned with the nerve agent novichok by officers from Russian military intelligence, the GRU. He said this weekend’s fire was likely to be their work as well.

Whatever the reason, Gebrev has apparently made powerful enemies in Russia. Between 2011 and 2020, blasts hit four warehouses and production facilities linked to his company. Last year, the Bulgarian foreign ministry expelled a Russian diplomat over suspected Russian involvement in the blasts, and called on Moscow to help with the investigation, The Guardian writes.