"Vazrazhdane" welcomes the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to finally step into its powers and summon the Ukrainian ambassador to Bulgaria.
Kostadinov is categorical that she should receive a note today with which our country declares her persona non grata. Not only because of the Ukrainian drone that crashed in Bulgaria, but also for her intervention in the “Baba Alino” case and because of the case of the two Ukrainian terrorists caught in our country.
We recall that in May 2026 “Vazrazhdane” submitted a request for a hearing of the Minister of Justice from “Progressive Bulgaria”.
The need for its holding was the discussion of measures to prevent sabotage of sites of strategic importance for the national security of Bulgaria and to ensure the independence of the Bulgarian judicial system in the cases of foreigners and to prevent interference by the relevant foreign state.
In our motivations at that time, we, the submitters, indicated that in January of this year, Ukrainian former military men Olegsii Timofeev and Roman Zozulya were detained on charges of espionage near a military site in Bulgaria.
They were found in possession of arrays with secret data and exact coordinates of the “Rasovo“ compressor station near Montana, which serves to increase the pressure along the “Balkan Stream” route, as well as full technical characteristics and the exact location of three gas turbocompressor units in Bulgaria. Timofeev and Zozulya were inspecting sensitive points on the route of the “Balkan Stream“ gas pipeline.
The arrests of the two Ukrainian citizens were kept completely secret for 2 months, when the court classified the case due to a threat to national security. Timofeev and Zozulya, who officially live in Spain, entered our country at the end of 2025. Although the defense presents them as war invalids and TV parts dealers, the charges are under Chapter One of the Criminal Code - crimes against the republic. Olegsii Timofeev is a lieutenant, head of the “Unmanned Systems“ department in the Ukrainian Army (ASU), who is retired due to injury. Roman Zozulya served in the airborne assault troops of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria, and was also retired due to injury.
On the third month of their detention, a change of detention is requested for health reasons, which they obviously did not have while they were traveling in Europe and touring the gas pipeline route.
According to information in the media, the case also caused diplomatic tension, with rumors circulating among diplomatic circles in our country that Ukrainian Ambassador Olesya Ilashchuk had pressured Acting Prime Minister Andriy Gyurov over the espionage case against the two arrested Ukrainians and had lobbied for the detainees, denying that Kiev had targeted the route, which brings Bulgaria 100 million euros annually.
In May, only “Vazrazhdane” supported their request for a hearing, all other parties - PB, GERB, PP, DB and MRF voted against or abstained.
“We remind the ruling party of this case and expect them to raise the issue with the Ukrainian ambassador, who categorically does not contribute to good diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Bulgaria and has sufficient grounds to be declared persona non grata”, Kostadin Kostadinov from “Vazrazhdane” is categorical.