U.S. Says Russia Planned Killings in America and Europe

U.S. authorities charged five people on September 15, 2026, saying they were part of a Russian intelligence plan to arrange killings in the U.S. and in European countries that support Ukraine. All five are still at large. The indictment was made public in federal court in Manhattan, according to reporting published September 16. The Guardian

The charges are conspiring to pay for terrorism and to commit murder-for-hire in the United States. Murder-for-hire means paying someone else to kill a person. That wording comes from the Justice Department's September 15 press release titled "Members Of Russian Intelligence Services Network Charged With Conspiring To Finance Terrorism And Commit Murder For Hire In The United States." Justice Department

Prosecutors say the network paid and tried to pay people in the U.S. and other countries to follow and watch targets picked for later killing. Recruits were also asked to attack civilian and military buildings and sites in European countries seen as aligned with Ukraine. Authorities say the plan started in at least 2024 and included attacks and killings around the world, including inside the United States.

Investigators called the group "one arm" of Russia's system for attacks abroad, including murder. In their account, the network first focused on Russian dissidents and defectors, people who opposed Moscow or left its service. It later turned toward nations seen as allies of Ukraine.

The indictment describes an effort in summer 2026 to recruit a U.S.-based person to watch and kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to live in the U.S. The person, named only as US Resident-1, was sent to two places linked to the intended victim and given clear watching instructions. The pay offered was $1,000 and $1,500. US Resident-1 sent photos and videos to one of the charged men but said no to a $40,000 offer to "eliminate" or "disappear" the target. After that refusal, a member of the network tried to recruit several other people in the U.S. with offers of large sums, according to the indictment.

James Barnacle Jr., head of New York's FBI office, said relentless work by the FBI disrupted the plans.

The broader context here is the method prosecutors describe. Watching and killing were treated as separate paid jobs, like hiring someone to take photos without telling them the full plan. That can make it easier to recruit people. It also leaves tracks in payments, messages, and photos, which appear central to this case.

Looking at what this means for the U.S. and Europe, the two aims are charged together. Targeting dissidents and targeting sites in countries that help Kyiv are part of the same alleged plan. For the agencies that try to stop foreign spying and sabotage, that widens the job from protecting people to protecting buildings and supply routes. It will likely raise questions about how U.S. prosecutors share evidence with European partners.