Bulgarian minister makes claims before meeting Sir Keir Starmer at London summit on tackling illegal immigration through the western Balkans
20 October 2025
Russian spies are giving migrants advice on how to avoid deportation from Britain and other European countries, a Bulgarian minister has claimed.
Daniel Mitov, the country’s interior minister, said Vladimir Putin’s regime and hard-left groups were working with people smugglers to flood Europe with migrants.
He warned British teenagers who help “neo-Marxist groups” at the Bulgaria-Turkey border that they faced jail and hefty fines if they helped migrants enter the European Union illegally.
Bulgaria joined the EU’s Schengen area in January, which means migrants who illegally enter the country via Turkey can reach the rest of Europe much more easily.
It will be among the European nations attending a summit hosted by Sir Keir Starmerin London on Wednesday, during which they will discuss closer co-operation on tackling illegal immigration through the western Balkans.
Mr Mitov said some NGOs were “maybe unwittingly” helping Russia and people smugglers through their activities.
“They are neo-Marxist groups which are trying to justify their actions through philosophical or ideological constructs”, he told The Times.
“Basically, let’s get all the poor people from the world and let them establish themselves here, the absolute freedom of movement, the non-existence of borders and so on and so forth.
“So unfortunately, we do have challenges with such non-governmental organisations which, maybe unwittingly, take part in the operations of those hostile states and the criminal networks which smuggle people illegally into the territory of the EU and the UK.
“Illegal migration inflows are an instrument for hostile regimes to destabilise the European Union and the United Kingdom.
“They are aiming to destabilise the welfare systems. Plus, of course … through smuggling radicalised individuals, they create security issues for us.”
He accused No Name Kitchen, which works “to defend freedom of movement” across the Balkans, Mediterranean and Sahel migration routes, and Mission Wings, a Bulgaria-based charity that primarily protects children.
Both organisations deny any claims they help smugglers.
Mr Miltov also said Bulgaria needs to secure its border because “every house needs walls”.
“Now it is time to build a home and preserve our internal freedoms. Not a fortress but a home which needs walls. Every house needs walls,” he said.
“Those walls need to be solid and there are gates through which every guest can enter.”
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, said: “It is clear that illegal migration into Europe and beyond is being driven not just by organised crime networks seeking to make a profit, but by hostile state actors seeking to destabilise Europe.
“That threat is real, growing and very serious, and I have made clear that we need to expand and strengthen our international co-operation to tackle it together.
“We will therefore continue to support Bulgaria and our other Nato allies in securing Europe’s external frontiers, and tackling every different type of threat we face from the Putin regime, including providing the specialist equipment, intelligence and training that will help our Bulgarian counterparts to defend their borders and disrupt these criminal operations.”
Mission Wings denied allegations of involvement in people smuggling and told The Times: “Neither our organisation nor its staff have ever participated in rescue operations involving migrants or refugees at Bulgaria’s borders.
“Whenever we have received signals concerning migrants in distress, we have immediately alerted the Ministry of Interior and the national emergency number 112, and have co-operated fully with the competent authorities.
“To accuse us of co-operation with criminal smuggling networks is absurd and offensive. We have consistently and publicly opposed irregular border crossing, which constitutes a crime and poses serious risks.”
No Name Kitchen said it was an EU-registered humanitarian organisation and rejected the “baseless” accusations.
It told the newspaper: “For nearly a decade, we have worked in full compliance with domestic and international law. As stated by the European Commission to the Bulgarian authorities, humanitarian assistance is not a crime and never has been. We remain committed to lawful action and protecting human rights at Europe’s borders.”
“Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, said: “It is clear that illegal migration into Europe and beyond is being driven not just by organised crime networks seeking to make a profit, but by hostile state actors seeking to destabilise Europe.”
No shit Yvette.
The rat nazi has been at it since his Syrian intervention; probably before.
Syrian illegals have been some of the most active in the fields of rape, murder and thieving right across the U.K. and Europe.
Could someone please explain why the UK has not deported every russian back to their shithole, including diplomats?
Number of countries that broke off diplomatic relations with the cauldron of devilry : one. (Ukraine).
Even the civilised world still wants to deal with filthy child-murdering scum.
Krasnov of course goes a step further : he wants to profit from the blood of Ukrainian children.