U.S. Charges 5 in Alleged Russian Plot to Target Kremlin Critics

The U.S. Justice Department charged five men it said were tied to Russian intelligence with planning attacks on perceived enemies of the Kremlin worldwide.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed the indictment on Sept. 16. The papers describe the network as "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 defendants are Yuri Khrameev, 63, a former colonel in a Russian intelligence 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 identify Yuri Khrameev as "Colonel Yuri" and Suarez as "Viking" Justice Department.

All five remain at large.

All five are charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism, which means prosecutors allege they helped pay for or support planned violence. Yuri Khrameev, Suarez and Castro face an additional count of murder-for-hire conspiracy. The charges are allegations of planning. Prosecutors have not said any of the alleged murders were carried out.

The U.S. case centers on a prominent Russian dissident living in the United States. Between July and August 2026, prosecutors said, the network recruited a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn, identified only as U.S. Resident 1, to watch and kill the dissident.

Prosecutors said Castro and Suarez contacted U.S. Resident 1 on an encrypted messaging app. They allegedly sent two addresses linked to the dissident and told him to take photos and video of the places. Suarez allegedly offered $40,000 to have the dissident eliminated.

U.S. Resident 1 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 that was code for carrying out the killing.

The indictment also alleges operations outside the United States. Prosecutors said the network acted against civilian and military targets in European countries allied with Ukraine. The summaries 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 how the case is built and where it was filed. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged all five with the broader financing conspiracy, and charged three with the narrower murder-for-hire conspiracy tied to specific messages, money and an intended victim in the U.S. The U.S. link rests in part on the Brooklyn recruit who allegedly would not kill, plus the messages, addresses and surveillance instructions, for conduct prosecutors said was directed from Russia. With no defendants in U.S. custody, any arrest would depend on cooperation, sanctions and future custody.