Murders for supporting Ukraine: US exposes network linked to Russia

Russian intelligence services planned contract killings of people supporting Ukraine in the United States and Europe. American law enforcement officers have exposed a network that recruited perpetrators for surveillance, assassinations, and sabotage.

This was reported by the US Department of Justice.

Five people, whom US authorities have linked to Russian intelligence, have been charged in the case. All of them remain at large.

According to the indictment, the network had been operating since at least 2024. Its members sought out people in the United States and other countries who could spy on potential victims and then organize their murder.

In the summer of 2026, according to the American investigation, members of the network recruited a man in the United States to spy on a prominent Russian opposition figure. His name is not being disclosed. In the case materials, he is referred to as Victim-1.

Initially, the contractor was offered between $1,000 and $1,500 for surveillance. After that, he was promised $40,000 for killing the opposition figure. The man refused to carry out the order himself, after which he was offered to find another contractor.

Another assassination attempt, according to the US Department of Justice, was carried out last year. At that time, the network was looking for a hitman for a Russian opposition figure living in Lithuania. They offered about $25,000 for his murder.

American law enforcement officers have indicted 63-year-old Yuri Khrameyev, a former colonel in the Russian special services, his 27-year-old son Kirill Khrameyev, who is an FSB officer, as well as Cuban citizens Oemis Romagos Durruti and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, and Venezuelan citizen Angel Eduardo Castro.

According to the investigation, the network also involved people in sabotage in European countries that support Ukraine. In particular, it involved attacks on civilian and military infrastructure.

All five are charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism. Khrameyev, Suarez and Castro are also charged with conspiracy to commit contract killing.

The FBI said they were able to thwart these plans. At the same time, the US Department of Justice emphasized that the indictment contains only the allegations of the prosecution, and those involved in the case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

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