Todd Blanche
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US charges five in alleged Russian intelligence network for contract killings and sabotage
US prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging five people, including two Russian citizens linked to Russian intelligence, with financing terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. The "RIS" network allegedly tracked Russian dissidents in the US and Europe and plotted killings, including a Washington-based dissident offered $40,000 and a Lithuania-based dissident offered $25,000. Prosecutors say the network also coordinated sabotage against infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine.