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A Russian journalist, Roman Dobrokhotov, believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered a spy operation against him. Dobrokhotov, the editor-in-chief of The Insider, was pursued across Europe by Bulgarian spies working for Moscow, three of whom were convicted recently. Dobrokhotov expressed gratitude for still being alive despite the harrowing experience.
Dobrokhotov and his colleague Christo Grozev were targeted due to their investigative work that exposed Russia’s involvement in various deadly incidents, such as the nerve agent attacks in Salisbury in 2018 and on opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020. The spy cell, led by Jan Marsalek on behalf of Russian intelligence, took a keen interest in Grozev after Bellingcat’s report on the Navalny poisoning. It is believed that Putin, disturbed by the revelations, directly ordered the operation against Dobrokhotov and Grozev.
The spy operation involved following Dobrokhotov and Grozev throughout Europe, with discussions even involving kidnapping or killing the journalists. Plans were made to smuggle Dobrokhotov out of the UK via a small boat from the Norfolk coast, which Dobrokhotov understood would lead to his demise. Despite being unaware of being followed by the Bulgarian spies, Dobrokhotov eventually received a warning that it was dangerous to leave the country in January 2023, just before the cell members were arrested.
Dobrokhotov sees the police action as a message to Putin, who he believes only understands actions, not words. He perceives arrests and imprisonments of spies as messages that Putin can comprehend. While acknowledging the constraints on Russian espionage due to expulsions of professional spies, Dobrokhotov warns that spy cells like the Bulgarian one remain a significant threat. His motivation stems from a desire to bring about change in Russia, emphasizing the importance of challenging a government that resorts to violence against journalists and critics
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