United States Charges 5 People in Alleged Russian-Backed Murder Plots

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the charges against five individuals for their alleged involvement in Russian-backed murder plots, according to an indictment made public on Tuesday. The DOJ claims that these individuals were part of Russian intelligence services and were responsible for carrying out attacks, surveillance, recruitment, and targeted killings, including in the United States.

The names of the accused are Yuri Khrameev, 63; his son Kirill Khrameev, 27; Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, both 35, who are Cuban nationals; and Angel Eduardo Castro, 22, a Venezuelan national. They are accused of conspiring to finance terrorism and conspiring to commit murder for hire. Attorney General Todd Blanche disclosed that the alleged plots included efforts to assassinate a Russian dissident believed to be in the Washington, D.C., area.

The DOJ also stated that the network allegedly recruited multiple people in the United States and Lithuania to provide surveillance on Russian dissidents. One individual was offered $40,000 to eliminate or disappear a person living in the U.S., and another was offered $25,000 to kill a person residing in Lithuania. The Russian embassy has not yet commented on the allegations. Russia has previously denied conducting such plots on foreign soil, including in the United States.