US Accuses Russian Intelligence of Orchestrating Murder Plot in Washington D.C.
Federal prosecutors allege a global network of Russian operatives sought to recruit individuals for assassinations and terrorist acts.
The U.S. has accused Russian intelligence operatives of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting a Kremlin critic believed to be residing in the Washington, D.C. area. Federal prosecutors revealed in unsealed documents on Tuesday that this alleged conspiracy was part of a broader international network tasked with carrying out assassinations and terrorist attacks on behalf of Moscow.
Five individuals, described as working for Russia's intelligence services, have been charged. They are accused of being paid and attempting to pay others within the U.S. and abroad to surveil and assassinate Russian dissidents. Three of the defendants also face conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charges. The Justice Department has stated that all five defendants remain at large.
According to prosecutors, the alleged operation extended to the nation's capital in late August. Suspected Russian intelligence operatives reportedly directed a U.S.-based Venezuelan citizen to secretly film two Washington-area locations associated with a Kremlin critic. The operative was then allegedly offered $40,000 to carry out the killing. The indictment states that the recruited individual completed the surveillance but ultimately refused to commit the murder.
Prosecutors contend that the five defendants were members or associates of a Russian intelligence-directed network responsible for financing terrorism and coordinating violent operations across multiple countries. The indictment names Yuri Khrameev, identified as a former Russian intelligence colonel, his son Kirill Khrameev, an officer in Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a Cuban national living in Russia who allegedly coordinated attacks, and Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro.
Details from the indictment suggest the network used coded language, referring to the assassination as "construction" and the surveillance as "measuring a plot of land." After the initial recruit declined to carry out the murder, prosecutors allege the network sought alternative U.S.-based recruits and indicated the availability of operatives in Mexico.
The case represents one of the most significant publicly alleged Russian intelligence operations targeting an individual within the U.S. in recent years. The indictment also accuses members of the network of supporting attacks on civilian and military infrastructure in Europe and conducting surveillance of Russian dissidents abroad. This follows a pattern of accusations against Russia by Western governments for targeting political opponents and defectors overseas, including the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England.
Prosecutors allege that the Washington murder plot was part of a wider Russian intelligence campaign ongoing since at least 2024. The same network is accused of recruiting a U.S. citizen in Lithuania to surveil another Kremlin critic before offering approximately $25,000 for their assassination. Following that recruit's refusal, the network reportedly shifted to soliciting sabotage attacks against infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine, including alleged plots targeting electrical substations, warehouses, and transportation hubs.
Western governments have warned of Russia's increased use of covert operations, sabotage, and assassination plots since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. U.S. prosecutors claim the network has shifted its focus from targeting Russian dissidents and defectors to attacking countries perceived as aligned with Ukraine.