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US Charges Five in Russian Intelligence Network Over Violent Plots in America and Europe
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The US Department of Justice has charged five alleged members of a Russian intelligence network accused of recruiting operatives for terrorist attacks in Europe and plotting to assassinate a Russian dissident in the United States, US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced.
According to the US Department of Justice, the five defendants allegedly operated as part of a global network working on behalf of Russian intelligence services since at least 2024. The network specialized in organizing contract killings and acts of terrorism, with its activities targeting Russian dissidents and defectors as well as countries supporting Ukraine.
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“It is our job to stop America’s adversaries from unleashing violence and terror on American soil. And that’s precisely what we are doing thanks to the work of the FBI and our Justice Department prosecutors,” Blanche said.
According to ABC News on September 16, the case, filed in the Southern District of New York, centers in part on an alleged plot to assassinate a prominent Russian dissident whom the defendants believed was in Washington, DC.
US investigators identified 63-year-old former Russian intelligence colonel Yuri Khrameev and his son, 27-year-old FSB officer Kirill Khrameev, as alleged leaders of the network. Investigators said its leadership also included 35-year-old Cuban national Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, who resides in Russia.
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Two other defendants, 35-year-old Cuban national Yaidel Delgado Suarez and 22-year-old Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro, helped identify and recruit potential operatives in the United States.
“These defendants allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States, attempting to recruit US citizens and foreigners to carry out killings at the behest of the Kremlin,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said.
According to investigators, the network recruited a US resident during the summer of 2026 to conduct surveillance and help arrange the killing of a prominent Russian dissident. The alleged recruiters offered between $1,000 and $1,500 for surveillance and $40,000 for the killing.
The indictment also describes an earlier effort in Lithuania, where the network allegedly recruited a US citizen in 2025 to surveil a person whom the Russian operatives described as spreading damaging information about Russia. Yuri Khrameev later allegedly offered the recruit $25,000 to kill the Russian dissident using either an incendiary device or a knife.
After the individual refused, Khrameyev proposed what he described as simpler assignments involving arson attacks against food warehouses or electrical substations. Investigators said he identified potential targets as countries supporting Ukraine and promised substantial payments.
The alleged network’s activities extended beyond assassination plots. Investigators said Durruthy coordinated preparations for an attack in Prague, Czechia, in June 2024 and another planned attack in Lithuania in September of that year.
“The Russian-led network charged in today’s indictment is brazen, aggressive, and far-reaching, and the charges levied against the defendants should send a clear message: no matter where you are, and no matter who you work for, we will investigate and prosecute you for your crimes,” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton MacDonald said.
All five defendants remain at large. They have been charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Three of the defendants also face conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charges, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The charges come amid broader efforts by European countries to counter suspected Russian covert operations and hybrid threats. Germany and Ukraine have agreed to strengthen security cooperation in response to such threats, with Ukrainian intelligence and law enforcement specialists set to share their experience in countering drones, sabotage, espionage, and cyberattacks.
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