The United States Department of Justice has accused Russia of plotting to murder people in the US and Europe who are considered allies or supporters of Ukraine.
The department on Tuesday charged five men it said were linked to the Russian Intelligence Services (RIS) network, accusing them of paying or attempting to pay people to target individuals “aligned, or perceived to be aligned, with Ukraine”.
“It is our job to stop America’s adversaries from unleashing violence and terror on American soil,” US Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
The five suspects remain at large, and it is unclear whether they are in the US or elsewhere.
The defendants were charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
According to the DoJ, three of the suspects are high-ranking members of the RIS network.
They include Russian nationals Yuri Khrameev, 63, a former colonel in the Russian intelligence services, and his 27-year-old son, Kirill Khrameev, an officer with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
The third is Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, a Cuban national whom US authorities described as an influential member of the Cuban diaspora in Russia who coordinated attacks for the RIS network.
The other defendants are Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35, and Angel Eduardo Castro, 22.
The pair are accused of recruiting or attempting to recruit people in the US to monitor and kill a prominent Russian dissident living in the country.
FBI official James Barnacle said the suspects had allegedly conspired to “intimidate, threaten, or murder people on US soil and around the world”.
The DoJ said one of the alleged plots took place as recently as this summer.
According to prosecutors, Suarez recruited a person in the US to monitor a Russian dissident and sent the individual to two locations linked to the target.
The recruit was allegedly offered between $1,000 and $1,500 for the surveillance operation.
Suarez and Castro allegedly offered an additional $40,000 if the person could “eliminate” the dissident.
The DoJ said the recruit eventually abandoned the plan, prompting Suarez to allegedly seek other people in the US to carry out the attack.
Prosecutors said the suspects were also involved in other attempts to recruit people to kill individuals viewed as threats to Russia.
The DoJ said Kirill Khrameev allegedly recruited a US citizen in 2025 to monitor and kill a person in Lithuania who was accused of “telling lies about Russia”.
According to prosecutors, Khrameev said the operation was intended to target “all the countries that are helping Ukraine”.
His father allegedly offered the recruit $25,000 to kill the Lithuanian target for “spreading dirt about my country” and “distorting history”.
Yuri Khrameev, Suarez and Castro also face charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would not comment on the allegations until it saw credible evidence.
“We will not comment until we hear or see any credible evidence, tangible facts,” Peskov told reporters.
The allegations come amid continuing concerns in Europe over suspected Russian operations targeting people considered hostile to Moscow.
Last month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said authorities detained a person allegedly working for the Kremlin who was suspected of plotting to kill an American-Ukrainian citizen in Warsaw.
In 2024, German authorities were also reportedly warned by US intelligence about an alleged Russian plot to kill Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger.
Moscow rejected that allegation at the time.
The latest US accusations come despite closer contacts between Washington and Moscow since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025.
The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, recently visited Moscow for talks with Russian intelligence officials. The Kremlin confirmed the meeting, while Trump described it as “semi-routine”.
REUTERS.
