US Indictment Reveals Russian Global Murder Network | Today’s news
(Bloomberg) — Last year, a former Russian military intelligence officer named Yuri Khrameyev offered a U.S. citizen $25,000 to track down and kill someone in the Lithuanian capital who was “telling lies about Russia,” according to U.S. prosecutors.
The charges came as the Justice Department unsealed charges late Tuesday against five people working for Russian intelligence agencies in carrying out attacks and killings in Europe and the US. The defendants remain at large, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York said.
In a series of messages detailed in the US indictment, Khrameyev – who was known as Colonel Yuri and allegedly tried to recruit people to kill Russian dissidents – explained that he also wanted to target infrastructure in NATO countries, including train stations, bus depots and warehouses supplying aid to Ukraine.
“I am interested in all the countries that help Ukraine,” Chrameev texted the American after refusing to carry out the murder. “Throw a bottle of gasoline into an electrical substation. Set fire to a warehouse of possessions or food. You’re looking for such items yourself. You have to be creative about it.”
“These defendants allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States and attempted to recruit American citizens and foreigners to kill at the behest of the Kremlin,” said US Deputy Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg. “Such actions represent a gross violation of our sovereignty and a threat to our national security.”
The federal indictment offers a detailed look at Russia’s expanding campaign of so-called hybrid attacks against European nations that supply arms and money to Ukraine. The new charges echo a string of cases across Europe this summer. In some cases, Russian security services have attempted to recruit citizens or residents of other countries to damage infrastructure or target individuals in exchange for payment.
Earlier this month, Germany officially attributed the recent discovery of an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig-Halle airport to Russia, while Poland said in August it had foiled a Russian-ordered assassination attempt on a US citizen of Ukrainian origin.
Estonia also accused Moscow of being behind a fire at a defense firm last month. Two Ukrainian nationals, one recruited online by a Russian-speaking Telegram user, have been convicted in the UK of conspiring to commit arson attacks on a car and property associated with then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The new US allegations shed light on Moscow’s ongoing efforts to assassinate Russian dissidents and threaten European and US security. This summer, Russian spies also recruited a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn, New York, to track down and kill a prominent Russian dissident who the indictment said he believed was living in Washington. Two of them, including one nicknamed “Viking” – a Cuban national living in Russia – told the recruit they wanted the dissident to “disappear” in exchange for $40,000, which the recruit refused, revealing their brazenness that they wanted to carry out assassinations on American soil as well.
A new case can be embarrassing for the administration. President Donald Trump has taken a conciliatory approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he seeks to reignite peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
ProPublica also reported earlier this week that a Russian oligarch who was personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his ties to Putin and accompanied the Russian president on a recent state visit to China paid for a post-wedding party for Donald Trump Jr. earlier this year.
The Trump administration has not yet commented on whether it will take action against Russia in light of the new allegations. Previous cases — such as the attempted assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent in the United Kingdom — have prompted U.S. sanctions.
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