Justice Department Indicts Russian Intelligence Operatives for Global Murder Plots, Including U.S. Target

Federal prosecutors in New York have unsealed an indictment accusing five individuals affiliated with Russia’s intelligence services of operating a global assassination network targeting Kremlin critics, including a plot on American soil. The charges were announced Tuesday and mark the latest allegation of foreign interference aimed at silencing dissent within the United States and among NATO allies.

The defendants, who remain at large and are believed to reside in Russia, include Yuri Khrameev, a 63-year-old former Russian intelligence colonel known as “Colonel Yuri,” his son Kirill Khrameev, two Cuban nationals, and one Venezuelan operative. According to the Justice Department, the group is collectively referred to as the “RIS Network.”

Among the alleged crimes is a murder-for-hire scheme that took place in July and August of this year. Prosecutors state that the Venezuelan and one of the Cuban operatives recruited a resident of Brooklyn to photograph and film two locations linked to an unnamed Russian dissident believed to live in the Washington, D.C., area. The operatives offered the resident between $1,000 and $1,500 for the surveillance, with an additional $40,000 promised for eliminating the target.

The indictment reveals that while the Brooklyn resident agreed to take photographs, he refused to carry out a killing. The operatives then pressed him to identify others who might be willing to commit the murder. “Let me know as soon as possible because I have a chain and my boss has questions,” one Cuban recruiter wrote, adding that other potential hitmen in Mexico were delayed.

In a separate incident last year, the indictment accuses Yuri Khrameev and his son of attempting to recruit a U.S. citizen in Lithuania to assassinate an individual described as “telling lies about Russia.” The younger Khrameev reportedly met the American at the Estonia-Russia border and initially paid him $200 to photograph the target’s home. When the U.S. citizen declined the murder offer, Yuri Khrameev allegedly proposed paying him $25,000 to kill the target or alternatively to arson a warehouse or electrical substation.

The RIS Network is also charged with facilitating two failed arson attacks in Europe during 2024: an attempt to ignite buses in the Czech Republic and a plot against a Lithuanian facility supplying radio equipment to Ukraine. Both incidents previously drew international attention, with Lithuanian and Czech officials attributing the plots to Russia. One Cuban defendant is accused of communicating with associates involved in those attacks and booking travel accommodations for them.

All five defendants face charges of conspiracy to finance terrorism. Yuri Khrameev, along with the Cuban and Venezuelan operatives linked to the summer plot, also face conspiracy to commit murder for hire. The U.S. citizen and the Brooklyn resident who were recruited but did not participate in violent acts were not charged or named in the indictment.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg condemned the alleged activities in a statement, describing them as “a gross violation of our sovereignty and a threat to our national security.” He emphasized that the defendants operated as part of a “global assassination network” reaching into the U.S., vowing to prevent foreign intelligence services from operating freely within the country.

The indictment follows a pattern of accusations against the Russian government for targeting critics abroad, including the 2020 poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the 2018 nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal in the UK. Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently denied any involvement in such operations.

As the war in Ukraine continues, NATO states have increasingly warned of Russian sabotage and provocative actions on allied territory. American intelligence agencies assessed this summer that President Putin may be willing to authorize actions on NATO soil designed to test the alliance’s cohesion without triggering outright war. This comes amid diplomatic tensions, including a recent meeting between CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Russian officials in Moscow, where warnings against attacking NATO were reportedly discussed.