US charges five alleged Russian intelligence operatives with terrorism and murder-for-hire conspiracies

U.S. prosecutors announced Tuesday that five people allegedly connected to Russian intelligence have been charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism, and in three cases, conspiracy to commit murder for hire. The indictment alleges the network recruited operatives to conduct surveillance and killings in the United States and to target civilian and military infrastructure in European nations that support Ukraine.

According to the filing, the group recently approached a U.S.-based individual, offering $40,000 to eliminate a Russian dissident residing in the country and discussing the use of a third party to carry out the murder. In a separate scheme, a suspected Russian intelligence officer is said to have offered $25,000 to kill a dissident in Lithuania and then suggested attacks on a warehouse or an electrical substation in "all the countries that are helping Ukraine." The indictment also cites coordinated operations planned for Prague and Lithuania in 2024.

"These defendants allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States," Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said, adding that they acted "at the behest of the Kremlin."

The charges arrive amid heightened scrutiny of Russian-linked activities across Europe, including a drone attack at Leipzig-Halle airport blamed on Moscow and recent incidents involving NATO and Russian forces in Lithuanian and Danish airspace. European officials have accused Moscow of conducting hybrid attacks to destabilize the continent while pursuing its war in Ukraine. Russia’s Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Washington have not responded to requests for comment.