DOJ charges Russian agents with plotting attacks, including in US

The United States has indicted two Russians, two Cubans, and one Venezuelan for allegedly orchestrating assassination attempts within the United States and Europe. This marks the first verified instance of Russian intelligence planning and attempting to carry out killings on U.S. soil. In addition to the planned murders, the agents solicited individuals to engage in sabotage across nations supporting Ukraine.

Five individuals are accused of operating under Russian intelligence: Yuri Khrameev, a 63-year-old ex-colonel; his son Kirill, a 27-year-old FSB officer; Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, both 35 years old; and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro, 22 years old. Attorney General Todd Blanche vowed to prevent adversaries from carrying out violence and terror within American borders.

According to Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, the criminals sought to enlist U.S. citizens and foreigners to execute killings at the Kremlin's behest. In the summer, a network recruited a U.S. resident to spy on a well-known Russian dissident, "Victim-1." The recruit was promised between $1,000 and $1,500 for taking photographs and video of locations associated with the dissident.

The recruit was further offered $40,000 to kill the dissident; however, declined and suggested someone else who could carry out the murder.

Russian intelligence exploited Cubans and Venezuelans residing in Russia to recruit a Venezuelan living in the U.S. Angel Eduardo Castro served as the intermediary. In late July, Castro instructed a fellow countryman living in the U.S. to surveil a Russian dissident in Washington. They communicated in coded messages, with surveillance tasks referred to as measuring a plot of land and the killing as construction.

The same network recruited a U.S. citizen in 2025 to spy on another Russian dissident, "Victim-2," residing in Lithuania. Khrameev's son asked the recruit to photograph the victim's address, while Khrameev the elder offered $25,000 for the murder. The Justice Department states that Khrameev informed the U.S. citizen that the dissident was spreading negative information about Russia and distorting history.

Khrameev provided the recruit with methods to kill the victim, including throwing a bottle of gasoline or stabbing him. When the recruit declined, Khrameev presented alternative, simpler jobs like setting a warehouse or electrical substation on fire, or throwing a gasoline bottle at a substation, all aimed at targeting nations supporting Ukraine. Khrameev confirmed his status as a "colonel of Russian intelligence agencies."

All five individuals have been charged with conspiring to finance terrorism. Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro are additionally charged with conspiring to commit murder for hire, facing penalties of up to 20 and 10 years respectively. They remain at large.