How FBI busted Russian plot to kill US-based dissident, target Ukraine supporters

The FBI has disrupted an alleged Russian intelligence operation to assassinate a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in Washington, DC, after operatives recruited a person in the US to conduct surveillance on the target.According to an Associated Press report, five people have been charged after a Manhattan federal court unsealed an indictment alleging that a Russian intelligence network had been recruiting people in the US and elsewhere since at least 2024 to surveil and kill Russian dissidents.The alleged US operation came to light this summer, when members of the network recruited a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn to surveil and murder the dissident, according to the indictment cited by AP. The recruit was allegedly sent to two locations linked to the intended victim and given explicit instructions on how to conduct surveillance.The Brooklyn resident was promised $1,000 and $1,500 for carrying out the surveillance assignments. After conducting the surveillance, the person allegedly provided multiple photographs and videos of locations associated with the intended victim to one of the alleged network members.The operation then escalated to an assassination offer. The US resident allegedly turned down $40,000 offered to “eliminate” or “disappear” the target through murder, authorities said. After the offer was rejected, the alleged Russian intelligence operative tried to recruit other people in the US, offering substantial sums to complete the killing, the indictment said.Russian network targeted Ukraine supportersThe alleged network's activities were not limited to the United States. The Justice Department said its members had also commissioned associates to carry out, or attempt to carry out, acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries aligned, or perceived to be aligned, with Ukraine.According to the FBI and DOJ statements reported by AP, the network had previously focused on Russian dissidents and defectors, but after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, its activities expanded toward countries perceived as allies of Ukraine. US authorities said members had recently tried to recruit multiple people inside the United States.James C Barnacle Jr, head of the FBI's New York office, said the agency disrupted the plans through what he described as “relentless work.” Darren B. Cox, head of the FBI's Washington office, said multiple FBI field offices, components and partner agencies moved quickly after the threat was identified to disrupt the alleged plot.Five people have been charged in the case. They include Yuri Khrameev, described as a former colonel in the Russian intelligence services, his son Kirill Khrameev, identified as an officer with Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a Cuban national living in Russia, Yaidel Delgado Suarez; and Angel Eduardo Castro. All five remain at large.The DOJ said all five face a conspiracy charge related to financing terrorism, while Yuri Khrameev, Suarez and Castro also face a conspiracy charge related to murder for hire. The FBI's New York Counterintelligence Division led the investigation, with significant assistance from the Washington Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations.The charges are allegations contained in an indictment. The Justice Department said all five defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.