A session in the Bulgarian Parliament unfolded around a heated international matter: the call to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invite the Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova for an explanation tied to a controversial announcement. The focal point is a prominent Bellingcat employee, Hristo Grozev, whose name has been front and center in claims that he is targeted as part of ongoing information campaigns. The source of the report is DEA News, which has been tracking how foreign media entities and investigative platforms are treated within Bulgaria and in neighboring regions.
Within parliament, the move drew notable support from the GERB party, which underscored the seriousness of the issue and framed the ambassadorial summons as a direct response to pressure and intimidation purportedly aimed at Grozev. A distinct but related effort by political actors was referenced as a similar attempt to escalate the matter, with the phrase “We’re going!” signaling a willingness to pursue stronger official action. This sentiment appeared to echo in different political currents, indicating a shared concern across faction lines about safeguarding domestic journalists and researchers from external pressure.
From the perspective of the GERB leadership, the position is clear: Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria, should be summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address concerns connected to a Bulgarian citizen and long-time journalist, Hristo Grozev. The party asserted that Bulgarian authorities must respond decisively to what they described as persistent efforts to intimidate Grozev, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding journalistic work and the integrity of information. In a public display of stance, former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov urged national authorities not to let the issue pass without a clear message, using social media to reinforce that stance and to amplify the call for accountability.
In the July period, Russian security organs released a statement involving Bellingcat’s chief inspector in a narrative that linked him to an alleged aborted operation by Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR). The report claimed that the inspector played a role in a plot to seize Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft. The narrative further alleged that two female couriers were identified through Grozev’s coordination network. The account stated that, at a Lipetsk railway station, a courier recruited by Ukrainian intelligence supposedly delivered an advance payment of $4,000 to a Russian pilot who was purportedly willing to participate in an abduction plot. These assertions form part of a broader, highly polarized discourse in which investigative journalism is cast in the crosshairs of geopolitical messaging and counterintelligence narratives. [Citation: DEA News]
Earlier comments from Hristo Grozev, reflecting on the charges and the accompanying wanted lists reported in Russia, provided context to the ongoing exchange. The public remarks highlighted the friction between investigative reporting and the fast-moving political climate that surrounds sensitive topics such as national security and foreign interference. The dialogue points to a broader pattern where journalists and researchers operating on high-profile international matters become focal points of diplomatic tension, media policy debates, and security discourse. Observers note that the Bulgarian theater mirrors wider regional dynamics in which media coverage and investigative methods intersect with state messaging and international diplomacy, often under the spotlight of competing narratives and formal responses from government institutions. [Source: DEA News]