US charges Russian intelligence network over murder-for-hire and attacks in Europe

On 15 September 2026 the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging five members of what it calls a Russian intelligence services network with conspiracy to finance terrorism. They include FSB officer Kirill Khrameev, 27, and his father Yuri Khrameev ('Colonel Yuri'), 63; three of the five are also charged with murder-for-hire conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that the network offered $40,000 in summer 2026 to kill a prominent Russian dissident in the US, and in 2025 offered about $25,000 to a US citizen to kill a Lithuania-based critic of Russia. They also allege that defendant Oemis Romagoza Durruthy coordinated attacks in Prague (June 2024) and at a manufacturer in Šiauliai, Lithuania, of mobile radio stations intended for the Ukrainian military (September 2024). All five remain at large.

Established by. Indictment (SDNY, unsealed 15 Sep 2026; counts under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2339C and 1958) describes an 'RIS Network' of individuals 'working for the intelligence services of the Russian Federation'. It says that since the 2022 invasion the network has conducted operations against 'nations perceived as Ukrainian allies', and quotes Yuri Khrameev: 'I am interested in all the countries that are helping Ukraine.' The DOJ/SDNY press release (No. 26-262) says Yuri Khrameev allegedly confirmed he was a 'colonel of Russian intelligence agencies' and offered a 'simpler job', such as 'throw[ing] a bottle of gasoline at an electrical substation'. AAG for National Security John A. Eisenberg: 'These defendants allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States.'

Latest. The indictment has been unsealed; all five defendants are at large and none is in US custody. The allegations are unproven in court. The defendants face up to 20 years on the terrorism-financing count and up to 10 years on the murder-for-hire count.

Link to the war against Ukraine. The indictment says the network targeted 'nations perceived as Ukrainian allies'. One of the attacks it lists hit a Lithuanian maker of radio stations intended for Ukraine's military.