"A piece of Russia in the heart of NATO" - this is the title of a SkyNews article about the Russian complex in the "Kamchia" resort, located 25 km from Varna.
Journalist Ivor Bennett describes the camp as a "mini-city" owned by the Moscow government in Bulgaria.
"There are many things you would expect to find on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. But a little piece of Russia is not one of them," he says of the "smart city", emphasizing that Moscow acquired the land in 2018.
In the "small city" Bennett shows the complex's supermarket, sports hall and school, in front of which a British flag is surprisingly raised.
"Inside our country we have territory that is controlled by the Russians. All hybrid and espionage activities may pass through this piece of land. We do not know what they are doing there, we can only have doubts, knowing how developed espionage is in Russia,", former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadezhda Neynski told SkyNews.
How "Kamchia" became Russian territoryThe Moscow City Hall received ownership of the camp during the time of Sergei Stanishev's cabinet at a price that is well below market value.
In 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced "Kamchia" for "an ideal model of Russian soft power" and for a potential center for promoting Russian interests in Europe.
The complex had stopped operating after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but an investigation by "Free Point" showed that the children's camps had been renewed, with training branded as a partnership with the "Oxford Education Center".
Source: www.dnes.bg