FBI stops Russian intelligence murder-for-hire plot in US
Germany blames Russia for failed drone attack
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia is closing German cultural centers on its territory as a retaliatory response after Germany blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig Airport on August 4. The explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian plane at the airport and was later defused. This situation was later condemned by European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who called it "an attempted Russian attack." FDD's John Hardie joins LiveNOW's Austin Westfall to discuss.
The FBI says it thwarted a plot by Russian intelligence to kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in Washington, D.C.
According to a release from the FBI, five people assumed to be living abroad have been charged in the plot.
Suspects ‘conspired to cause destruction and mayhem’
Big picture view:
Court documents accuse the network of Russian intelligence services of trying to pay people in the U.S. and in Europeans nations supporting Ukraine to spy on and then kill Russian dissidents.
Among those charged in the indictment were three high-ranking members of the Russian intelligence services, authorities said. They were identified as Yuri Khrameev, a former colonel in the Russian intelligence services; his son, Kirill Khrameev, an officer in the Federal Security Service of Russia; and Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a Cuban national and an influential member of the Cuban diaspora living in Russia.
The FBI says it thwarted a plot by Russian intelligence to kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The indictment said the Federal Security Service is Russia’s principal security agency and the successor agency to the former Soviet Union’s Committee for State Security, which was known as the KGB.
Yuri Khrameev and two others charged in the indictment — Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro, both living in Russia — are accused of recruiting a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn to surveil and murder a prominent Russian dissident they believed to be residing in Washington, D.C.
Investigators said the Brooklyn resident was sent to two locations associated with the targeted victim and was given "explicit instructions on how to conduct surveillance" while being promised $1,000 and $1,500 to carry out the work.
After conducting the surveillance and providing multiple photographs and videos of locations associated with the intended victim, the U.S. resident turned down the $40,000 that was offered to "eliminate" or "disappear" the target through murder, authorities said.
When the offer was rejected, the member of the intelligence services who made it offered multiple other people within the United States substantial amounts of money to finish the job, the indictment said.
What they're saying:
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the people charged in the foiled plot "conspired to cause destruction and mayhem around the world, including right here in the United States."
James C. Barnacle Jr., head of New York’s FBI office, said the agency disrupted their plans in the U.S. "through relentless work" as members of the intelligence services and their affiliates "conspired to intimidate, threaten, or murder people on U.S. soil and around the world."
Timeline:
The network has reportedly been operating since 2024.
Why is Russia targeting Ukraine’s allies?
The backstory:
Previously the network had focused on Russian dissidents and defectors, but following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine had targeted nations perceived to be allies of Ukraine, the FBI said. Members of the network have tried to recruit multiple people in the United States.
The Source: This report includes information from the FBI and The Associated Press.