U.S. Says 5 Men Working With Russia Planned to Hurt Critics

The Justice Department charged five men it said worked with Russian intelligence to plan attacks on critics of the Kremlin around the world.

Prosecutors in Manhattan made the charges public on Sept. 16. The court papers call the group "one arm of the Russian Federation's apparatus used to carry out external attacks, including murder, around the world," according to the charges outlined by prosecutors NPR.

The five men are Yuri Khrameev, 63, a former colonel in a Russian spy service; his son Kirill Khrameev, 27, described as a suspected officer in Russia's FSB; Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, both from Cuba; and Angel Eduardo Castro, from Venezuela Reuters. Prosecutors said Durruthy, Suarez and Castro all live in Russia. Justice Department records call Yuri Khrameev "Colonel Yuri" and Suarez "Viking" Justice Department.

All five are still at large.

All five are charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism. That means prosecutors said they planned to pay for or help violent acts. Yuri Khrameev, Suarez and Castro face one more charge of planning a murder for hire. No one said the planned killings happened.

The American part of the case centers on a well-known Russian dissident in the U.S. Prosecutors said that between July and August 2026, the group asked a Venezuelan man living in Brooklyn, called only U.S. Resident 1 in the papers, to follow and kill that person.

Prosecutors said Castro and Suarez messaged the man on a private, encrypted app. They allegedly sent two addresses for the dissident and told him to take photos and video. Suarez allegedly offered $40,000 for the killing.

The Brooklyn man said he would take photos and video but would not kill anyone, according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege Suarez then asked if he knew someone who wanted construction work. Prosecutors said those words were code for the killing.

Prosecutors also said the group acted against civilian and military targets in European countries that support Ukraine. The papers released so far do not name those targets.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said "it is the Justice Department's job to stop America's adversaries from unleashing violence and terror on American soil."

The broader context here is why the charges are split this way. Think of it like two circles: a big one covering all five for alleged money and planning help, and a smaller one covering three for the alleged U.S. murder plan tied to messages, money and one intended victim. With no one in U.S. custody, arrests would depend on help from other countries, sanctions and future custody.