US charges five over ‘assassination network’

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, September 17, 2026

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged five individuals accused of operating a Kremlin-backed network planning assassinations and surveillance of dissidents in the U.S., Lithuania, and Europe. The indictment highlights an ongoing Russian effort to suppress critics abroad and underscores increased U.S. law enforcement vigilance against foreign terrorist activities.

The United States Department of Justice has charged five individuals in connection with a Kremlin-backed “global assassination network” accused of plotting murders and conducting surveillance on dissidents in the US, Lithuania, and other European countries supportive of Ukraine. The indictment, unsealed in a New York federal court on Tuesday, alleges that the group operated since at least 2024 and targeted both dissidents and military or civilian infrastructure.

The defendants include Russian nationals Yuri Khrameev, his son Kirill Khrameev, and Venezuelan Angel Eduardo Castro, along with two Cubans based in Russia, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez. The DOJ described the group as working for Russian intelligence services under the network name RIS. The individuals remain at large.

According to charging documents, Suarez, labeled a “prolific recruiter,” and Castro approached a Venezuelan living in Brooklyn last summer to conduct surveillance and offered $40,000 to have a prominent Russian dissident residing in the US “eliminated” or “disappeared.” The recruit agreed only to take photographs but declined to participate in any assassination. In a separate plot, Yuri Khrameev reportedly attempted to recruit an American citizen in 2025 to kill a dissident near Vilnius, Lithuania. This individual similarly agreed to perform surveillance for a modest fee but refused to carry out the murder, despite an offer of $25,000 and suggestions to use arson or a stabbing.

Federal prosecutors allege these assassination efforts form part of a broader Russian campaign to silence critics and disrupt support for Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion. Jamie McDonald, New York’s top federal prosecutor, said the defendants conspired to “cause destruction and mayhem around the world, including right here in the United States.” US Attorney General Todd Blancke highlighted heightened law enforcement efforts, citing a 38 percent increase in arrests involving foreign terrorist groups during the current administration.

The indictment marks a rare official US accusation of a Kremlin-directed assassination plot on American soil. Western governments had previously linked Russian intelligence agencies to assassinations and attempted killings of dissidents stretching back to the mid-2000s. German authorities also recently blamed Moscow after an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian aircraft at Leipzig airport.

Yuri Khrameev, reportedly known as “Colonel Yuri,” has claimed ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he said he worked with during their youth in the ex-KGB. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the allegations. Russia does not have an extradition treaty with the US, but if apprehended and convicted, the defendants could face up to 20 years in prison.

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