US Charges Five in Alleged Russian Intelligence Assassination Plot

The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging five individuals for allegedly operating a Russian intelligence-linked network that plotted assassinations and sabotage in the United States and allied countries. All five defendants remain at large, and Russia has denied the allegations. The defendants are identified as Russian nationals Yuri Khrameev, 63, and his son Kirill Khrameev, 27; Cubans Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, both 35; and Venezuelan Angel Eduardo Castro, 22. Prosecutors described Yuri Khrameev as a former colonel in Russian intelligence and his son as an officer in Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB. The indictment, announced by Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday, alleges the network has operated since at least 2024. It is accused of targeting Russian dissidents, defectors, and countries viewed as supporting Ukraine. According to prosecutors, the network attempted to recruit a U.S.-based individual this summer to surveil and kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, D.C., area.