US Charges Five Over Alleged Russian Intelligence Assassination Network

By Mintesinot Nigussie  |  September 17, 2026

The United States has charged five people accused of working for Russian intelligence services in an alleged international network that sought to recruit people in the US to conduct surveillance and targeted killings, including against a Russian dissident.

The US Department of Justice said the charges were unsealed after the Federal Bureau of Investigation disrupted the alleged network, which prosecutors say has operated since at least 2024 and conducted or attempted attacks in the US and Europe.

All five defendants remain at large. According to the indictment, three of the defendants are alleged to be senior members of what US prosecutors call the Russian Intelligence Services Network. They include Yuri Khrameev, a 63-year-old former Russian intelligence colonel; his 27-year-old son Kirill Khrameev, described as an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service; and Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a 35-year-old Cuban national living in Russia.

The other defendants are Yaidel Delgado Suarez, a 35-year-old Cuban national described by prosecutors as a recruiter for the network, and Angel Eduardo Castro, a 22-year-old Venezuelan national.

US prosecutors allege that the network most recently attempted to recruit people in the United States to surveil and kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in the country.

According to the indictment, Suarez recruited a US-based individual to conduct surveillance of locations associated with the dissident and offered between 1,000 and 1,500 US dollars for the assignment. Suarez and Castro later allegedly offered the individual 40,000 US dollars to carry out the killing and asked whether he knew someone who could do it.

The indictment alleges that Suarez also told the individual that associates in Mexico could carry out the killing, although their involvement had been delayed.

The alleged US operation followed an earlier recruitment effort involving a target in Lithuania. Prosecutors say Kirill Khrameev recruited a US citizen to photograph the target’s location before Yuri Khrameev allegedly offered about 25,000 US dollars to kill the individual.

After the US citizen declined, prosecutors allege that Khrameev offered alternative assignments, including attacks on property and an electrical substation. According to the indictment, Khrameev said the network was targeting countries supporting Ukraine.

US authorities also accuse Durruthy of coordinating logistics for alleged attacks in Europe. The indictment says he helped coordinate an operation in Prague in June 2024 and another in Lithuania in September 2024, including arranging travel and communicating with participants.

The five defendants are charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism, an offence carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Yuri Khrameev, Suarez and Castro also face a charge of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

The case was investigated by the FBI's New York Field Office Counterintelligence Division, with assistance from the FBI's Washington Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations.

The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Source: FSX Business News