FBI: Russian intelligence plotted killings of Ukraine supporters in US, Europe

Russian intelligence services have been preparing targeted killings in the United States and European countries seen as supporting Ukraine, US federal authorities said, as they announced the disruption of a plot against a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in Washington, D.C.

Five people allegedly linked to Russian intelligence have been charged, including former Russian intelligence colonel Yuri Khrameev, his son and FSB officer Kirill Khrameev, Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

According to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court, a network linked to Russian intelligence has recruited and paid individuals in the United States and other countries since at least 2024 to surveil and kill Russian dissidents. Investigators also accused the network of seeking recruits for attacks against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries perceived to be aligned with Ukraine.

James C. Barnacle Jr., head of the FBI's New York office, said the agency had disrupted the plans “through relentless work” as members of the intelligence services and their affiliates “conspired to intimidate, threaten, or murder people on U.S. soil and around the world.”

The FBI said the network had previously focused on Russian dissidents and defectors but expanded its activities to countries perceived as allies of Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion.

In one of the cases described in the indictment, Yuri Khrameev, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro allegedly recruited a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn to surveil and kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be residing in Washington, D.C.

The recruit was sent to locations associated with the intended target and provided photographs and videos after receiving instructions on how to conduct surveillance. The individual later rejected a $40,000 offer to “eliminate” or “disappear” the target through murder, authorities said.

After the offer was turned down, the Russian intelligence operative behind the scheme approached other people in the United States and offered them substantial sums of money to carry out the killing, according to the report.

By Jeyhun Aghazada