Serbia accredits Russian diplomat expelled from Bulgaria over spying scandal
Russian diplomat Alexander Krasiy, who, according to Bulgarian media reports, was expelled from Bulgaria five years ago due to an espionage scandal, was accredited in Serbia in 2026 as an assistant military attaché.
Source: European Pravda, citing Radio Free Europe
Details: A leak from Russian databases indicates that Alexander Krasiy is linked to Russian military intelligence.
Investigations by Radio Free Europe show that Krasiy remained in Serbia for about a year after his expulsion from Bulgaria, but it was not until 2026 that he appeared on the diplomatic list as an assistant military attaché.
The expulsion of this Russian diplomat took place at the height of an investigation in Bulgaria regarding a series of explosions at arms depots which Russian citizens were suspected of carrying out at that time.
Moscow then denied any involvement in these incidents.
Nikola Lunić, a former diplomat and consultant on geopolitical and security matters, told Radio Liberty that this case demonstrates that the attitude of Serbian institutions towards this long-standing problem has not changed.
"The security services must carry out their constitutionally defined duties and protect the state in terms of security and counter-intelligence. You [Radio Free Europe] pointed this out back in 2023, but the institutions never reacted," notes Lunić.
In a previous 2023 investigation, Radio Free Europe's Balkan service identified three Russian diplomats who took up their diplomatic posts in Serbia after being expelled or blacklisted in EU countries in the months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
One of them is still a Russian diplomat in Serbia.
Background:
- In September, Hungary reported a decision to expel 10 staff members of the Russian embassy for activities that are "unacceptable for diplomats" under the Vienna Convention.
- In early September, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called for Russian diplomats' movements to be restricted to the countries where they are accredited, and for limits on the number of diplomatic accreditations.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon to help us keep reporting!