{
  "id": 10983102,
  "title": "El Mundo reports Russian authorities plotted to kill former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov in the U.S.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/el-mundo-reports-russian-authorities-plotted-to-kill-former-russian",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-30T15:59:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/30/el-mundo-reports-russian-authorities-plotted-to-kill-former-russian-lawmaker-ilya-ponomarev-and-former-world-chess-champion-garry-kasparov-in-the-u-s"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Spanish newspaper El Mundo claims Russian authorities devised a plan to assassinate opposition figures Ilya Ponomarev and Garry Kasparov in the United States. In the summer of 2026, American authorities informed Kasparov that he was targeted and provided him with protection for the first time since his relocation to New York in 2013. The plan to kill Ponomarev appeared to be further advanced, according to El Mundo. US authorities identified a five-person group acting on Moscow's orders, who recruited individuals for surveillance and potential killings. One recruited agent paid $1,000 to $1,500 for photographing two Washington locations linked to Ponomarev, with $40,000 offered to carry out the assassination. The plot collapsed when the intended killer dropped out. El Mundo also reported additional plans: an ambush in Vilnius, where a person would be stabbed to death or set on fire, with a possible target being Vladimir Kara-Murza, though the newspaper did not confirm or specify the exact intentions. Two group members allegedly paid a U.S. citizen $200 to photograph a Russian opposition figure's residence in Vilnius. Ivan Tyutrin, co-founder of the Free Russia Forum, had been targeted since 2024 and was receiving protection. In recent months, police warned him again that he was a target. The fee for that plot stood at $25,000. Other potential targets included Bashkir activist Ruslan Gabbasov, founder of the Committee of the Bashkir National Movement Abroad, who found a tracking device on his car in 2025 and later had a plot uncovered to kill him in Lithuania. Gabbasov confirmed that Lithuania's intelligence services had uncovered a plot to kill him. In April 2026, Delfi reported that a 55-year-old man was detained in Greece on suspicion of plotting to kill two people in Lithuania, possibly including Gabbasov. Gabbasov confirmed that Lithuanian intelligence services had uncovered a plot to kill him.",
  "summary": "Russian authorities spent several months planning to assassinate opposition figures Ilya Ponomarev and Garry Kasparov in the United States, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}