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Bulgarian police arrest a Russian national in connection with the 2020 Beirut port explosion
Tuesday 16 September 2025 06:19
Tuesday, 16 September 2025, 06:19
PHOTO euronews/AP
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The Russian owner of the cargo ship linked to a supply of ammonium nitrate at the centre of the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut in 2020 has been arrested in Bulgaria. Igor Grechushkin is wanted by Interpol, along with the ship's captain, Boris Prokoshev, who is also a Russian national.
A court in Lebanon told Euronews that it will request Grechushkin’s extradition to Lebanon. If Grechushkin is not handed over, Lebanese investigators could travel to Sofia to interrogate him there. Grechushkin, who also holds Cypriot citizenship, was detained in early September at Sofia Airport after arriving on a flight from Cyprus.
The explosion on August 4, 2020, claimed the lives of at least 218 people and wounded over 6,000 others. It devastated large parts of Beirut and caused damages worth billions of euros.
Edited by Ivo IvanovPublished and translated by Kostadin Atanasov
Photo: euronews/AP
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