The 'family-run' Greek hotel… 'that was also a safehouse for Russian GRU ... trends now
A family-run hotel run hotel on the Greek coast has been exposed as an alleged safehouse for the notorious GRU Russian spy agency, whose operatives have carried out bombings and poisonings across Europe.
Villa Elena in Frama, Halkidiki, overlooks the sparkling Aegean and is complete with an outdoor swimming pool and large private garden - and might be considered a bargain at £120-a-night.
Named after its owner Elena Saposnikov, who ran it with her husband Nikolay, the three-storey pile appears unassuming, and is still listed on holiday booking sites.
But for the last 15 years, the bolthole has hosted members of GRU Unit 29155, the Kremlin's 'most grimly accomplished assassination and sabotage squad,' an investigation by Moscow-sanctioned platform The Insider has found.
The group has been behind attacks on NATO soil, including the Salisbury poisonings and deadly explosions in Czechia, and the husband and wife team who allegedly hosted its operatives are said to have abetted some of its activities.
Villa Elena in Frama, Halkidiki, overlooks the sparkling Aegean and is complete with an outdoor swimming pool and large private garden
Elena and Nikolay Saposnikov bought the hotel in 2009. He died this year from a heart attack
Last year, Prague declared the Saposnikovs 'persons of interest' in connection with the 2014 bombing in Vrbetice
General Andrey Averyanov, the commander of the elite intelligence unit, is reported to have been in direct contact with the couple, with phone data even suggesting he stayed at their hotel.
Elena is believed to have been the boss in the husband and wife operation, and was reportedly considered such a valuable asset to Moscow that she was awarded one of its top honours, the Hero of the Russian Federation medal, by Vladimir Putin.
Both born in the Soviet Union, the Saposnikovs were awarded political asylum in what was then Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s, before becoming citizens of the Czech Republic.
Their application for citizenship was reportedly 'riddled with omissions, misrepresentations, and forgeries,' with claims they were approved by corrupt Czech officials.
Nikolay, a former Soviet military officer, went on to be investigated by Czech authorities over his job at an arms
