LONDON — Six Bulgarians convicted of carrying out a sophisticated spying operation for Russia were sentenced by a London judge Monday to prison terms up to nearly 11 years. The group that used Hollywood code names discussed kidnapping or killing Kremlin opponents as they targeted reporters, diplomats and Ukrainian troops in the U.K., Germany Austria, Spain and Montenegro between 2020 and 2023, prosecutors said.

No one was physically harmed but the group put lives in jeopardy, prosecutors said.

Ringleader Orlin Roussev, who operated out of a former guesthouse in the English seaside resort town of Great Yarmouth, was given the stiffest sentence — 10 years and 8 months in prison — for being involved in all six operations discovered by police. He and the others faced up to 14 years behind bars. Roussev worked for alleged Russian agent Jan Marsalek, an Austrian national who is wanted by Interpol for fraud and embezzlement after the 2020 collapse of German payment processing firm Wirecard, prosecutors said. His whereabouts are unknown.

— The Associated Press