Federal prosecutors have charged five people tied to Russian intelligence with running a network that allegedly tried to hire someone to assassinate a prominent Russian dissident living in the Washington, D.C. area. According to the indictment unsealed this week, the network offered a man $40,000 to “eliminate” the target after paying him a smaller sum to secretly film two locations connected to the dissident.
Who has been charged?
The Justice Department named five defendants, all of whom remain at large:
- Yuri Khrameev, 63, of Russia, known as “Colonel Yuri,” alleged to be a former Russian intelligence colonel
- Kirill Khrameev, 27, of Russia, his son, alleged to be an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)
- Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, of Cuba, accused of coordinating attacks
- Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35, of Cuba, known as “Viking,” accused of recruiting
- Angel Eduardo Castro, 22, of Venezuela
All five are charged with conspiring to finance terrorism, which carries up to 20 years in prison. Yuri Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro also face a conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charge carrying up to 10 years.
How did the alleged plot in Washington work?
Prosecutors say the network recruited a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn during the summer of 2026, offering him between $1,000 and $1,500 to photograph and film two locations connected to the target. He completed that surveillance. Afterward, Suarez and Castro allegedly offered him $40,000 to personally “eliminate” or “disappear” the dissident. He declined. According to the indictment, they then asked whether he knew anyone else willing to carry out the killing, and Suarez went on to approach other people in the U.S. with similar offers. The surveillance reportedly took place in late August.
Who was the target?
The Justice Department has not released the intended victim’s name, describing the person only as “a prominent Russian dissident in Washington, D.C.” That’s a fairly standard precaution in cases where a threat is alleged to be ongoing and the suspects haven’t been arrested. No statement from the target has been made public.
Was Washington the only target?
No. Prosecutors describe a broader operation running since at least 2024 that paid both Americans and foreign nationals to spy on targets, carry out targeted killings, and commit acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries seen as aligned with Ukraine. In a separate scheme detailed in the charges, the network allegedly recruited a U.S. citizen to surveil a dissident in Lithuania, offering $200 for the reconnaissance and $25,000 to commit the murder. FBI Director Kash Patel said the case “exposes the lengths to which our adversaries will go to silence its critics,” and the DOJ characterized the wider operation as “brazen, aggressive, and far-reaching.”
How has Russia responded?
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to engage with the specifics, saying that “until we have heard or seen any reasonable evidence and arguments based on at least something tangible, we do not consider it necessary to comment.” Russia has consistently denied similar allegations over the years, including in past Western cases involving attacks on exiles and defectors abroad. With all five defendants outside U.S. custody, the practical reality is that these charges may function more as public attribution than as a path to prosecution, at least unless any of the men travel somewhere willing to extradite them.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice · NBC News · NPR · ABC News
