DOJ charges Russian intel operatives with running 'global assassination network'

The Justice Department unsealed an indictment Tuesday against five members of Russia's intelligence services, accusing them of operating what prosecutors called a "global assassination network" designed to eliminate Kremlin critics both inside and outside Russian borders. The five defendants—a 63-year-old former Russian intelligence colonel named Yuri Khrameev, his son Kirill, two Cuban operatives, and one Venezuelan operative—are all believed to be living in Russia and remain at large, according to the department's statement.

One of the most direct threats emerged over the summer, when the Venezuelan operative and one of the Cuban operatives allegedly recruited a Brooklyn resident to conduct surveillance on a Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, D.C., area. The operatives offered the Brooklyn man between $1,000 and $1,500 to photograph and film two locations connected to the target. A separate payment of $40,000 was promised if he would "eliminate" or "disappear" the person. The Brooklyn resident agreed to take the photographs but refused to participate in what he called "the other stuff"—the killing itself. When he declined, the operatives asked if he knew anyone else who might be willing to do the work. "Let me know as soon as possible because I have a chain and my boss has questions," one of the Cuban recruiters wrote in a message cited in court papers. "I have people in Mexico right now and they're delayed."

The indictment also describes a recruitment effort in Lithuania the previous year. Yuri Khrameev and his son allegedly approached a U.S. citizen at the Estonia-Russia border and asked him to photograph the address of someone they wanted dead. The man was paid $200 for the surveillance work. Yuri Khrameev then allegedly offered him $25,000 to carry out the killing, telling him the target was "spreading dirt about my country" and "telling the media and the common people that the Russians are the aggressors." When the U.S. citizen refused, Khrameev allegedly pivoted, suggesting he could instead be paid to set fire to a warehouse or electrical substation. Khrameev described himself as interested in targeting pro-Ukrainian countries and said he was offering "serious money for serious work."

The network's reach extended beyond murder plots. Members of what prosecutors called the "RIS Network" were also accused of helping to organize a pair of failed arson attacks in Europe during 2024. One attempt targeted buses in the Czech Republic; another aimed at a Lithuanian facility that supplies radio equipment to Ukraine. Lithuanian and Czech officials had previously blamed Russia for these incidents. The indictment alleges that one of the Cuban defendants communicated with associates involved in both attacks and arranged their hotel accommodations and travel.

All five defendants face charges of terrorism finance conspiracy. Three of them—Yuri Khrameev, the Venezuelan operative, and one of the Cuban operatives—were additionally charged with murder-for-hire conspiracy. The two U.S. residents who were allegedly recruited to conduct surveillance were not charged and were not named in the indictment.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg characterized the alleged plots as "a gross violation of our sovereignty and a threat to our national security." He said the defendants "allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States, attempting to recruit U.S. citizens and foreigners to carry out killings at the behest of the Kremlin." The indictment marks the latest in a series of accusations that Russia has systematically targeted its critics abroad. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny survived a suspected poisoning in 2020 before recovering in Germany and later returning to Russia. Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in the United Kingdom in 2018. Alexander Litvinenko, a KGB agent turned Kremlin critic, died in Britain in 2006 after exposure to a radioactive substance.

The charges come as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues and NATO members have grown increasingly concerned about Russian sabotage operations on European soil. American intelligence agencies have assessed that Putin may be growing more willing to authorize provocative actions on NATO territory that fall short of outright warfare, potentially to test the alliance's cohesion. When CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Putin, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, warnings against attacking NATO were part of the discussion.