Katrin Ivanova, one of the Bulgarian suspects involved in the UK spy ring, has been formally charged with stealing mobile phone numbers of Ukrainian soldiers, as revealed during her trial. The 33-year-old was described by prosecutor Alison Morgan as the most technically adept member of the group, tasked with organizing an intended surveillance operation in Stuttgart, Germany.

The prosecution claims Ivanova was involved in obtaining the mobile numbers of Ukrainian soldiers undergoing training for the Patriot anti-missile systems in Stuttgart. A message from the spy ring leader, Orlin Rusev, to Russian agent Jan Marsalek was presented in court, in which Rusev referred to sending Ivanova to Stuttgart with an IMSI catcher—an electronic device capable of harvesting thousands of mobile phone numbers from nearby phones.

However, Ivanova denied any knowledge of such operations, claiming she had never heard of the IMSI catcher until her arrest in February 2023. She also stated that she had not seen Rusev's message and was unaware of any discussions between him and Marsalek. Despite this, the prosecution presented a message from her partner, Biser Dzhambazov, from October 2022, in which he asked her to bring the "big IMSI" for preparation and setup with a laptop. Ivanova acknowledged receiving the message but insisted she did not understand its content.

Ivanova and Dzhambazov traveled to Stuttgart on a reconnaissance mission in late October 2022, where they photographed and filmed a military base. While Ivanova admitted to seeing intelligence equipment in their London flat, including a spy camera concealed inside a soft drink bottle, she denied knowing its purpose or being directly involved in espionage activities.

She is one of three Bulgarian women accused of espionage on behalf of Russia between August 2020 and February 2023. Ivanova claims to have been manipulated by Dzhambazov, asserting that she was psychologically abused throughout their relationship. She described being "heartbroken" upon learning that Dzhambazov had been secretly involved with another woman, Vanya Gaberova, for over a year.

Despite Ivanova’s defense of being a victim, the prosecution dismissed her claims, arguing that she was fully aware of her involvement in the espionage operations. It was revealed that, like Dzhambazov, Ivanova had also been in a parallel relationship, which she initially denied but later admitted during the trial.

Source: BNT