US indicts five alleged Russian intelligence operatives for murder-for-hire and sabotage plots targeting Ukraine's allies
The US Department of Justice has charged five people it says are linked to Russian intelligence services with conspiracy to finance terrorism and, in three cases, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York allege the network recruited US-based individuals to surveil and kill Russian opposition figures in Washington and Lithuania, and coordinated sabotage attacks in European countries that support Ukraine. All five defendants remain at large; the Kremlin has rejected the allegations.
Key points
- Indictment unsealed on September 15; US Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the charges on September 16.
- Five defendants: former Russian intelligence colonel Yuri Khrameyev (63), his son and FSB officer Kirill Khrameyev (27), Cuban nationals Oemis Romagosa Durruthy (35) and Yaidel Delgado Suarez (35, alias "Viking"), and Venezuelan Angel Eduardo Castro (22).
- All five charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism (up to 20 years); Khrameyev Sr., Suarez, and Castro also face conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire (up to 10 years).
- Network allegedly operated since at least 2024, recruiting US residents to surveil and kill a Russian dissident in Washington (Victim-1) for $40,000, and earlier recruiting another recruit to target a Russian dissident in Lithuania (Victim-2) for $25,000.
- When the Lithuania recruit refused the killing, Yuri Khrameyev allegedly offered "easier work" — arson at warehouses or electrical substations — to strike "all countries helping Ukraine."
- Indictment ties the network to a June 2024 bus arson in Prague (a Colombian citizen sentenced to eight years) and a September 2024 attempted arson at TVC Solutions in Šiauliai, Lithuania, which makes equipment for Ukraine's armed forces.
- All defendants remain at large; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would not comment until it saw "credible evidence" or "tangible facts."
Why it matters
The indictment publicly identifies what US authorities describe as a Kremlin-directed network running assassination and sabotage operations against Russian dissidents and the countries that back Ukraine. It marks what outlets characterize as the first documented Russian intelligence plot to kill a person on US territory, while also tying the same network to sabotage in the Czech Republic and Lithuania. With all the defendants abroad and no immediate US sanctions announced, the case is a diplomatic and intelligence test as much as a criminal one.
What happened
On September 15, 2026, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging five people it links to Russian intelligence services with conspiracy to finance terrorism; three of them — Yuri Khrameyev, Yaidel Delgado Suarez, and Angel Eduardo Castro — also face conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. Prosecutors say the network, referred to as "RIS" and operating since at least 2024, recruited US-based individuals to surveil and kill a Russian opposition figure in Washington (Victim-1), with Suarez and Castro offering a recruit $40,000 for the killing. In 2025, a separate US recruit was approached about a Russian dissident in Lithuania (Victim-2), with Yuri Khrameyev offering $25,000 and, after the recruit refused, proposing arson attacks on warehouses and electrical substations to target "all countries helping Ukraine."
The indictment also links the network to a June 2024 bus arson in Prague, for which a Colombian citizen was sentenced to eight years, and a September 2024 attempted arson at TVC Solutions in Šiauliai, Lithuania, a manufacturer of equipment for Ukraine's armed forces. US Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the charges on September 16; the FBI said the plots had been disrupted. All five defendants remain at large, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the allegations pending "credible evidence" or "tangible facts."
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language outlets frame the indictment as a US criminal case against Russian intelligence services for plotting against people who help Ukraine and for sabotage in European countries backing Ukraine. They foreground the FSB background of the defendants, the recruitment of US residents, and the European sabotage attacks — including the Šiauliai arson at a defense supplier tied to Ukraine's armed forces — placing the case squarely inside the broader Russia–Ukraine war.
How international sources describe it
The single English-language source in the set leads with the Department of Justice framing — Russia accused of trying to kill Ukraine's allies in the US and Europe — and emphasizes the law-enforcement and criminal-procedure angles: the specific charges, the FBI's claim that it disrupted the plots, the fact that all defendants remain at large, and the Kremlin's rejection of the allegations.
Where reporting differs
Spelling and transliteration of the defendants' names vary across sources — Khrameyev, Khramyev, and Khrameev; Romagosa Durruti, Romagosa Durruthy, and Romagosa Durutti. Suarez is described as a Cuban national in some accounts and as tied to Venezuelan recruitment in others. Yuri Khrameyev is generally called a former colonel of Russian special services, though one source narrows this to the GRU. Sources also differ on whether the indictment was announced on September 15 or September 16.
Background
The five defendants are Yuri Khrameyev (63, alias "Colonel Yuri," former Russian intelligence colonel), his son Kirill Khrameyev (27, FSB officer), Cuban national Oemis Romagosa Durruthy (35, who allegedly coordinated attacks), Cuban national Yaidel Delgado Suarez (alias "Viking," 35, described as a prolific recruiter), and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro (22). The network, dubbed "RIS," has allegedly operated since at least 2024, paying people in the US and elsewhere and instructing accomplices on sabotage in European countries that support Ukraine. Beyond the US and Lithuania dissident plots, prosecutors link it to a June 2024 Prague bus arson (a Colombian citizen sentenced to eight years) and a September 2024 foiled arson at TVC Solutions in Šiauliai, Lithuania, which produces equipment for Ukraine's armed forces.