Federal authorities announced they thwarted a Russian plot to murder a prominent dissident believed to be residing in Washington, DC. The FBI uncovered that five individuals abroad were involved in a network of the Russian intelligence services aiming to target and eliminate Russian dissidents since 2024. This network also sought to recruit people in the US to carry out acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine. Among those charged are three high-ranking members of Russian intelligence, including Yuri Khrameev, a former colonel, his son Kirill, and Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a Cuban national.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Tuesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that an indictment has been unsealed in the Southern District of New York, charging multiple Russian citizens allegedly working for Russia’s intelligence community with financing terrorism and conspiring to commit murder-for-hire plots around the world. The indictment includes an alleged effort to murder a Russian dissident believed to be located in Washington, D.C.
According to further details released by the FBI, five individuals were charged in connection with a plot to surveil and kill a prominent Russian dissident in Washington, DC. This network, operating under the intelligence services of the Russian Federation since 2024, also recruited an individual in Brooklyn to carry out these actions.
James C. Barnacle Jr., head of New York’s FBI office, highlighted that the agency disrupted the plans through "relentless work," emphasizing the threat posed by Russian-led networks attempting to cause destruction and mayhem both within the United States and in European nations supporting Ukraine.
Written for “Russian Terror Plot Charges” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
The intelligence services of the Russian Federation are plotting to carry out targeted killings in the US and in European nations supporting Ukraine, federal authorities said Tuesday in announcing they’d thwarted a plot to kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in Washington, DC.
asserted
they → plot → Washington
Five people assumed to be living abroad were charged in the plot, according to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.
uncertain
people → assume → court
It said a network of the Russian intelligence services has paid and tried to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries since 2024 to surveil and then kill Russian dissidents.
asserted
network → say → dissidents
The associates recruited by the network also have been solicited to carry out acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that are perceived to be aligned with Ukraine, the indictment said.
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indictment → recruit → Ukraine
James C. Barnacle Jr., head of New York’s FBI office, said the agency disrupted the plans “through relentless work” as members of the intelligence services and their affiliates “conspired to intimidate, threaten, or murder people on US soil and around the world.”
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members → say → world
Darren B. Cox, head of the Washington, DC, office of the FBI, in a release cited “extraordinary work by multiple FBI field offices, components, and partner agencies” and said they “moved quickly to disrupt the plot.”
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they → cite → plot
According to the release, a network of people working for the Russian Federation’s intelligence services had since at least 2024 conspired to conduct and had conducted attacks and murders around the world, including within the United States.
uncertain
network → accord → States
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 release said.
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release → focus → Ukraine
Recently, members of the network have tried to recruit multiple people in the United States, it said.
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it → try → States
US Attorney Jamie McDonald said in the release that the Russian-led network said the people charged in the foiled plot “conspired to cause destruction and mayhem around the world, including right here in the United States.”
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people → say → States
Among those charged in the indictment were three high-ranking members of the Russian intelligence services, authorities said.
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authorities → charge → services
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Report → start → news
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.
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They → identify → Russia
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.
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which → say → KGB
Yuri Khrameev and two others charged in the indictment — Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro, both living in Russia — recruited a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn to surveil and murder a prominent Russian dissident they believed to be residing in Washington, DC, the indictment said.
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indictment → charge → Washington
It 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.
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resident → say → work
After conducting the surveillance and providing multiple photographs and videos of locations associated with the intended victim, the US resident turned down the $40,000 that was offered to “eliminate” or “disappear” the target through murder, authorities said.
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authorities → conduct → murder
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.
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indictment → reject → job
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