US Indictment Exposes Russian Global Assassination Network

Last year, a former military officer in the Russian intelligence services named Yuri Khrameev offered $25,000 to a US citizen to track and kill someone in Lithuania’s capital who was “telling lies about Russia,” according to US prosecutors.

(Bloomberg) -- Last year, a former military officer in the Russian intelligence services named Yuri Khrameev offered $25,000 to a US citizen to track and kill someone in Lithuania’s capital who was “telling lies about Russia,” according to US prosecutors. 

The allegations were laid out as the Justice Department unsealed charges late Tuesday against five people working for Russia’s intelligence services to conduct attacks and slayings in Europe and the US. The defendants remain at large, the US Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York said. 

In a series of messages detailed in a US indictment, Khrameev — who was known as Colonel Yuri and allegedly tried to recruit people to kill Russian dissidents — explained that he also wanted to target infrastructure in NATO countries, including train stations, bus depots and warehouses stocking aid for Ukraine. 

“I am interested in all the countries that are helping Ukraine,” Khrameev messaged the American, after he refused to carry out the killing. “Throw a bottle of gasoline at an electrical substation. Set fire to a warehouse of property or food. You’re looking for such objects yourself. You need to approach it creatively.”

“These defendants allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States, attempting to recruit US citizens and foreigners to carry out killings at the behest of the Kremlin,” said Assistant US Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg. “Actions like these represent a gross violation of our sovereignty and a threat to our national security.”

The federal indictment offers a detailed look at Russia’s expanding campaign of so-called hybrid attacks against European nations that supply weapons and money to Ukraine. The new charges echo a series of cases across Europe this summer. In some instances, Russian security services attempted to recruit citizens or residents in other nations to damage infrastructure or target individuals in return for payment. 

Earlier this month, Germany officially attributed the recent discovery of an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig-Halle airport to Russia, while Poland said in August that it thwarted an attempted assassination of a US citizen originally from Ukraine ordered by Russia. 

Estonia also accused Moscow last month of being behind a fire at a defense firm. Two Ukrainian nationals, one recruited online by a Russian-speaking Telegram user, were convicted in the UK of conspiring to commit arson attacks on a car and property linked to then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 

The new US charges illuminate Moscow’s ongoing efforts to murder Russian dissidents and threaten European and US security. This summer, Russian spies also recruited a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn, New York, to surveil and kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in Washington, according to the indictment. Two of them, including one nicknamed ‘Viking’ — a Cuban national living in Russia - told the recruit that they wanted them to make the dissident “disappear” in return for $40,000, which the recruit turned down, exposing their brazenness in wanting to also commit assassinations on US soil.

The new case may prove awkward for the administration. President Donald Trump has adopted a conciliatory approach toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he seeks to reignite peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. 

ProPublica also reported earlier this week that a Russian oligarch, who has been personally sanctioned by Ukraine over his ties to Putin and accompanied the Russian president on a recent state visit to China, paid for a post-wedding celebration for Donald Trump Jr. earlier this year. 

The Trump administration has not commented so far on whether it will take action against Russia in light of the new charges. Previous cases — for example the assassination attempt of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a nerve-agent in the UK — have triggered US sanctions.