Bulgarian citizens in UK, who are accused of spying for Russia, planned to kidnap a Russian investigative journalist and take him off the island by boat, it became known at the last session of the trial at the Central Criminal Court in London. 

According to the prosecution, Austrian Jan Marsalek, who is an agent for Russia, exchanged thousands of messages with the head of the spy cell Orlin Rusev about this. The target of the kidnapping was Russian investigative journalist Roman Dobrokhotov, who works in the United Kingdom. Rusev wrote that he and 4 other people would participate in the "Boat Trip" operation. These were Max, the pseudonym of accomplice Biser Dzhambazov, Ivan Stoyanov, a commando from Bulgaria and a 68-year-old very experienced seaman also from Bulgaria. "All are old-school guys, retired naval experts from the old Soviet era," as Rusev described them. Katrin Ivanova from the group was the one following Dobrokhotov, BNR correspondent in London Vesselin Paunov reports.

• Trial of Bulgarians accused of spying for Russia continues in London