The Justice Department and FBI Director Kash Patel announced Tuesday that federal authorities have disrupted an alleged Russian intelligence operation to carry out targeted killings inside the United States and in European nations supporting Ukraine.
An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court charges five people believed to be living abroad. Prosecutors say a network tied to Russia’s intelligence services has, since 2024, paid or attempted to pay individuals in the United States and other countries to surveil and kill Russian dissidents.
The indictment also alleges that people recruited by the network were solicited to carry out acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries seen as supportive of Ukraine.
Among those named are Yuri Khrameev, a former colonel in the Russian intelligence services; his son, Kirill Khrameev, an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service; and Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a Cuban national described as an influential figure in the Cuban diaspora living in Russia. Authorities allege the three tried to recruit a man to surveil and kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be residing in Washington, D.C. The man they approached ultimately refused.
FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the case publicly, writing that foreign governments will not be permitted to silence critics or violate American law on U.S. soil.
Foreign governments will not be allowed to silence critics, violate our laws, or threaten the freedoms of people in America. The FBI will defend free speech and confront transnational repression wherever it threatens our homeland.
The case underscores growing concern among U.S. officials over what they describe as transnational repression — efforts by foreign governments to intimidate, surveil, or harm dissidents and critics living abroad, including on American soil.
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