16 September 2026 — The United States Justice Department has unsealed charges against five people accused of participating in a Russian intelligence network that planned attacks and targeted killings.
Prosecutors allege that the network recruited people in the United States and Europe to conduct surveillance of Russian dissidents and individuals viewed as supporting Ukraine.
The defendants include Russian nationals Yuri and Kirill Khrameev, Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro.
According to the indictment, recruiters offered $40,000 for the murder of a prominent Russian dissident believed to be in the Washington area and $25,000 for another killing in Lithuania.
US authorities said the proposed operatives refused to carry out the killings, allowing law-enforcement agencies to disrupt the alleged plots.
The five defendants remain at large, and three also face conspiracy-to-commit-murder-for-hire charges carrying potential prison sentences if convicted.
An indictment contains allegations rather than proof, and all defendants are legally presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
References
- US Department of Justice — Charges against alleged intelligence network
- Reuters — Five charged in alleged Russian-backed plots
- Associated Press — FBI says assassination plot was disrupted
Featured photo: Connor Gan via Unsplash.