The US has accused Russian intelligence agents of being behind a murder-for-hire scheme aimed at a Kremlin critic who is thought to be living in Washington, DC.
Documents revealed on Tuesday detail how federal prosecutors believe this plot is part of a larger international network that seeks individuals willing to carry out assassinations and terrorist acts for Russia.
Five individuals have been charged in relation to this scheme. They allegedly have connections to Russian intelligence and are accused of compensating others, both within the US and outside it, to surveil and potentially kill Russian dissidents.
Among the charges, three of these defendants face specific allegations of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. According to the Justice Department, all five are currently on the run.
Prosecutors claim that the conspiracy reached Washington in late August when the suspected Russian operatives directed a Venezuelan citizen living in the US to covertly film two locations associated with the Kremlin critic, allegedly offering him $40,000 for the assassination.
The individual completed the surveillance but chose not to participate in the actual murder, as stated in the indictment.
It is alleged that these five defendants are part of a Russian intelligence-directed group responsible for financing terrorism and coordinating violent actions across various nations.
According to the prosecution, the recruiter provided detailed instructions for the surveillance, including advising the operative to switch his phone to airplane mode, start recording before entering the area, proceed slowly past the target’s residence, and delete any related messages afterward.
The indictment mentions that the conspirators used code words, describing the assassination as “construction” and the surveillance as “measuring a plot of land.”
When the recruit opted not to proceed with the murder, the network reportedly looked for other potential recruits within the US but also suggested they had individuals in Mexico available for the task.
Besides the alleged assassination plot in Washington, the indictment suggests that members of this network supported attacks on civilian and military infrastructure in Europe and engaged in surveillance of Russian dissidents living abroad.
This case stands out as one of the more significant publicly reported Russian intelligence operations targeting an individual within the US in recent years.
The indictment identifies five individuals associated with what prosecutors term the Russian Intelligence Services Network (RIS). These include Yuri Khrameev, a former intelligence colonel known as “Colonel Yuri”; his son Kirill Khrameev, an officer with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB); Cuban national Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, who is said to coordinate attacks for the network; and two others, Yaidel Delgado Suarez, referred to as “Viking,” and Angel Eduardo Castro.
There have been numerous accusations by Western governments against Russia for targeting political opponents and defectors abroad.
One notable instance was the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer, and his daughter in Salisbury, England, using the nerve agent Novichok. British authorities attributed the attack to Russian military intelligence, a claim that Moscow refuted.
US officials have long accused Russia of orchestrating the killings of Kremlin critics overseas and employing covert influence and espionage tactics within the US. However, they note that this murder plot in Washington is a rare case where Russian operatives actively sought to recruit someone within the US to carry out an assassination.
Prosecutors assert that this alleged murder-for-hire scheme in Washington is part of a broader Russian intelligence initiative that has been in effect since at least 2024.
The indictment mentions that the same network had previously recruited a US citizen in Lithuania to surveil another Kremlin critic and allegedly offered around $25,000 to kill him.
After that recruit declined, prosecutors claim the network pivoted to soliciting sabotage attacks targeting infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine, including apparent plots against electrical substations, warehouses, and transport hubs.
This indictment comes at a time when Western governments have indicated that Russia has broadened its use of covert operations, sabotage, and assassination plans beyond traditional conflict zones since its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
US prosecutors allege that the network has shifted its focus from Russian dissidents and defectors to attacking nations viewed as aligned with Ukraine.
