US Justice Department charges five individuals with alleged Russian plot to target Ukraine supporters
The Department of Justice indicted five men linked to Russian intelligence for a conspiracy to finance terrorism and recruit operatives to surveil and potentially murder individuals perceived as aligned with Ukraine, both in the United States and abroad.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that five men with alleged ties to Russian intelligence services have been charged with a conspiracy to finance terrorism and to recruit individuals to surveil and attempt to kill people deemed supportive of Ukraine. The indictment says the suspects sought to pay U.S.-based recruits between $1,000 and $1,500 for surveillance work and offered up to $40,000 for a murder contract, though the alleged plot against a Russian dissident in the United States was not carried out.
Among the accused are Yuri Khrameev, a former colonel in Russian intelligence, his son Kirill Khrameev, an officer in the Federal Security Service, and Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a Cuban national described by U.S. officials as an influential member of the Cuban diaspora living in Russia. The Justice Department says three of the defendants are high-ranking members of the Russian intelligence network.
"It is our job to stop America's adversaries from unleashing violence and terror on American soil," Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years for the terrorism financing count and up to 10 years for the murder-for-hire count. The Kremlin has declined to comment pending what it calls "credible evidence" or "tangible facts."
The indictment also references earlier incidents, including a 2025 alleged recruitment of a U.S. citizen to target a Lithuanian individual accused of spreading false information about Russia, and a recent Polish investigation that detained a person accused of plotting to kill an American-Ukrainian citizen in Warsaw. German authorities were reportedly warned earlier this year of a separate Russian plot against the head of a major arms manufacturer.
The Justice Department said the alleged network continues to seek individuals in the United States and Europe to carry out surveillance and violent acts against perceived opponents of Russia.