Russia ‘helping people smugglers flood Europe and UK with migrants’
A Bulgarian minister has said his government has evidence of direct links between Russia's foreign intelligence agency and the criminal gangs helping illegal migrants to enter Europe.
Russian security services are helping migrants enter Britain and other European countries illegally, a Bulgarian minister has claimed.
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Daniel Mitov, Bulgaria's interior minister, said the Russian government is working with people smugglers to flood Europe with migrants.
Mr Mitov said "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 [in European countries]. Plus, of course ... through smuggling radicalised individuals, they create security issues for us."
Read More: Yvette Cooper to host talks on security and migration at Western Balkans summit
Mr Mitov also claimed that some NGOs in Europe could be unknowingly aiding Russia and the smuggling gangs.
The minister told the Times “They are neo-Marxist groups which are trying to justify their actions through philosophical or ideological constructs.
“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."
On Wednesday European nations will attend a summit hosted by Sir Keir Starmer in London, during which they will discuss closer co-operation on tackling illegal immigration through the western Balkans.
Yvette Cooper, the UK's 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."
She added “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.”
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has also played a central role in steering migrants toward the European Union with state-controlled travel agencies offering them visas and transport.
Once at the border, Belarusian security forces escort the migrants toward Polish territory while blocking their retreat.
More than 33,500 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2025 so far, with figures pointing to a record-breaking year.
The summit comes as the Home Secretary has ordered officials overseas to several Western Balkan states to develop security operations alongside their EU counterparts.
It comes as a Frontex agreement on sharing vital data about people smuggling gangs is extended to countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
The teams will be embedded with local police forces to improve their borders, training border guards in how to use British drones, deploying biometric technologies to track movement of illegal migrants, and crack down on visa and passport fraud.