Moscow has sharply criticized Bulgaria after the extradition of two Russian citizens to the United States, describing the move in unusually harsh terms.

According to Bulgarian authorities, Oleg Olshansky and Sergey Ivin were handed over to the US on March 26. Washington accuses them of sanctions violations and money laundering. The two were detained at Sofia Airport in December following a US request.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had sent a formal note to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry urging Sofia not to proceed with the extradition. In its statement, Moscow argued that the United States has serious human rights issues and alleged biased treatment of Russian nationals. After the request was not acted upon, the ministry said the decision reinforced Bulgaria’s “obscene reputation as an obedient puppet of Washington.”

Investigators allege that between 2017 and 2021, Ivin took part in supplying metallurgical goods from Donbas valued at around USD 350 million, in breach of sanctions linked to the annexation of Crimea. He is accused of using falsified documentation to disguise both the origin of the products and his alleged ties to businessman Sergey Kurchenko, a close associate of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. Ivin denies all accusations, while Olshansky is charged in the same case.

In a separate case, Russian national Igor Grechushkin was detained in Bulgaria in September 2025 after being wanted by Lebanon over the 2020 Beirut port explosion, which killed 218 people and injured about 6,000. Lebanese authorities consider him the owner of the vessel “Rosus,” which transported ammonium nitrate linked to the blast. He is accused of negligence and breaches in the shipment process and was subject to an Interpol red notice. However, in early December, a Sofia court ruled against his extradition to Lebanon, citing insufficient assurances that he would not face the death penalty if transferred.