The scandal with the alleged training of Russian fighters on Bulgarian territory has taken a new turn. Former MP and security expert Slavcho Velkov confirmed that Russian citizens were trained at the international training center for special training in the Gabrovo village of Mezhdeni. In an interview for the program “Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov“ on Nova TV (source: nova.bg), broadcast shortly before 6:00 p.m. on September 12, 2026, Velkov provided key clarifications on the hot topic that exploded the media space in our country and abroad.
According to Velkov, he has direct information from the head of the center, according to which courses for Russian citizens were indeed held there, but the topic was strictly specific – “personal security“. The expert emphasized that these trainings were conducted in the past and ended around 2019-2020, which coincides with the onset of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His statement largely confirms the official position of the center itself “Alfa Metal“ (source: btvnovinite.bg), from which they categorically denied the publications in the British publications The Telegraph and Daily Mail. Foreign media previously disseminated information from a leaked intelligence report intended for the “Five Eyes“ alliance, which claimed that Western special forces veterans had trained Russian military personnel in Bulgaria for the war in Ukraine.
Representatives of the training ground in the village of Mezhdeni described these claims as a search for cheap sensationalism or a malicious competitive attack. They explicitly stated that they have not worked with Russian companies or citizens since 2020, let alone since the beginning of the military invasion in 2022. All their registers and documentation are completely in order and available for inspection by the Bulgarian special services, with which the company officially cooperates.
Despite the reassuring words of Slavcho Velkov and the center's leadership, the case has already caused a serious political shake-up. The political union “Democratic Bulgaria“ (source: clubz.bg) has already requested an extraordinary hearing in the National Assembly of the heads of SANS and the State Agency “Intelligence“ (DAR) to clarify whether Bulgarian counterintelligence had a complete track record on foreign citizens passing through the training ground.
In the same media appearance, Velkov also commented on the broader context of the country's security, calling for tighter controls on the issuance of Schengen visas by Bulgaria. According to him, free movement within the EU requires extremely precise verification of absolutely all applicants to ensure that national security will not be compromised.