The Department of Justice announced charges against five Russian agents still at large for allegedly contracting for surveillance and murder-for-hire plots around the world, including in the United States.
The individuals allegedly work for Russian intelligence services and have been working since 2024 to conspire and conduct attacks against defectors and allies of Ukraine. Prosecutors also said the alleged agents have attempted to recruit individuals in America to carry out surveillance operations.
“It is our job to stop America’s adversaries from unleashing violence and terror on American soil,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “And that’s precisely what we are doing thanks to the work of the FBI and our Justice Department prosecutors.”
The five defendants are Yuri Khrameev, 63, and his son, Kirill Khrameev, 27, both of Russia; Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35, both of Cuba; and Angel Eduardo Castro, 22, of Venezuela.
Prosecutors described Yuri Khrameev as a former colonel in Russian intelligence and his son as an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. The DOJ alleges all five worked as part of a Russian intelligence network that has targeted dissidents, defectors, and countries viewed as supporting Ukraine since at least 2024.
The group’s alleged efforts reached the U.S. this summer when Suarez recruited a U.S.-based individual to surveil a prominent Russian dissident, prosecutors said. Suarez allegedly provided two locations connected to the target and offered between $1,000 and $1,500 for surveillance.
The person subsequently provided photographs and videos of locations connected to the intended victim, according to the indictment. Suarez and Castro then allegedly offered the person $40,000 to “eliminate” or “disappear” the dissident. The person declined to carry out the killing.
Prosecutors allege the network separately sought to have a U.S. citizen kill a person in Lithuania last year. Yuri Khrameev allegedly offered approximately $25,000 for that killing after his son initially recruited the person to photograph the intended victim’s home.
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The network is further accused of coordinating attacks against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries supporting Ukraine, including operations in the Czech Republic and Lithuania.
All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism. Yuri Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro also face conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charges carrying up to 10 years.