Bulgaria expels a Russian and 2 Belarusian clerics accused of spying for Moscow
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria is expelling one Russian and two Belarusian nationals for carrying out activities against Bulgaria’s national security and interests. The country’s agency for national security said on Thursday the three had worked to “purposefully influence the social and political processes in Bulgaria in favor of Russian geopolitical interests.” The statement did not elaborate and provided only initials of the three. The Russian Embassy in Sofia reacted angrily in a Facebook post and said the three expelled were members of the clergy — the prior of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia, Archimandrite Vassian, and two ministers of the Church of St. Nicholas of Myra.