The U.S. Justice Department has unsealed an indictment revealing a purported global network operated by Russian intelligence services to carry out assassinations and sabotage in Europe and the United States. The charges, announced last week, target five individuals who allegedly sought to recruit foreigners and U.S. citizens to commit violent acts on behalf of the Kremlin. All defendants remain at large, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Central to the indictment is Yuri Khrameev, a former Russian military intelligence officer known as “Colonel Yuri.” Prosecutors say Khrameev offered $25,000 to a U.S. citizen to track and kill a person in Vilnius, Lithuania, described as spreading false information about Russia. When the potential recruit declined, Khrameev urged targeting infrastructure within NATO countries, such as train stations, bus depots, and warehouses storing aid to Ukraine. Messages released by the Justice Department show Khrameev encouraging creative acts of sabotage, including setting fire to facilities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg described the defendants as part of a “global assassination network” actively seeking to undermine U.S. sovereignty and security. The indictment highlights Russia’s expanding campaign of what officials describe as hybrid warfare aimed at destabilizing nations supplying Ukraine with military and financial support.
This case echoes similar incidents reported in Europe over the past year. German authorities attributed an explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig-Halle airport to Russian operatives, while Polish officials said they thwarted an attempt to assassinate a U.S. citizen with Ukrainian origins, allegedly ordered by Moscow. Estonia also blamed Russia for a fire at a defense company, and in the United Kingdom, two Ukrainians were convicted of conspiring to commit arson attacks linked to properties connected to then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer after allegedly being recruited by a Russian-speaking user on Telegram.
The indictment also details efforts by Russian operatives to target dissidents within the United States. Prosecutors say agents recruited a Venezuelan citizen residing in Brooklyn to surveil and assassinate a prominent Russian dissident reportedly living in Washington. The individual was offered $40,000 to make the dissident “disappear” but declined the proposal. Among the recruiters identified is a Cuban national nicknamed “Viking” residing in Russia.
The timing of the indictment may complicate the current U.S. administration’s approach to Russia. President Donald Trump has pursued a more conciliatory stance toward President Vladimir Putin amid efforts to revive peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The Justice Department has not yet commented on potential responses or sanctions related to the new charges. Previous Russian operations on foreign soil, such as the nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the U.K., have prompted U.S. sanctions in the past.
Additionally, reports recently emerged linking a Russian oligarch, sanctioned by Ukraine for ties to Putin and known to have accompanied the Russian president on a visit to China, to financial support for a post-wedding event for Donald Trump Jr., raising further questions about Kremlin influence in U.S. political circles.