The U.S. Department of Justice has charged five people whom U.S. authorities believe were part of a network linked to Russian intelligence services and the planning of attacks and contract killings in the United States and other countries. All of the defendants remain at large.
All five are charged with conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Three of them are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder, which carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
According to the indictment, the network had been operating since at least 2024. Investigators say its members paid or attempted to pay people in the United States and other countries to surveil potential targets and prepare killings.
The charges also concern the recruitment of accomplices to organize attacks against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that support Ukraine. The U.S. Department of Justice did not cite any specific attacks that had been carried out in its statement.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said the defendants were, according to authorities, part of a global contract-killing network that also operated in the United States and sought to recruit U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to carry out killings on behalf of the Kremlin.
Jaymi McDonald, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the FBI, together with other law enforcement agencies, had disrupted the network’s activities.
Who is involved in the case
Among those charged is a 63-year-old Russian citizen and former intelligence colonel. Investigators say he was involved in recruiting people to kill those considered dissidents in Russia.
His 27-year-old son has also been charged. According to U.S. authorities, he is an officer of Russia’s Federal Security Service.
The third defendant is a Cuban citizen and an influential member of the Cuban diaspora in Russia. Investigators believe he coordinated attacks for the Russian network.
The other two defendants are a 35-year-old Cuban citizen, whom investigators describe as an active recruiter, and a 22-year-old Venezuelan citizen. According to the indictment, they sought to find operatives to surveil and kill a Russian dissident living in the United States.
Incidents in the United States and Lithuania
According to the U.S. investigation, members of the network recruited a person living in the United States this summer to surveil a Russian dissident. One of the Cuban citizens provided that person with two addresses linked to the potential victim and detailed surveillance instructions. The person was allegedly promised between $1,000 and $1,500 for the work.
Law enforcement officials say the recruited person provided photographs and videos of locations connected to the dissident. They were later offered $40,000 to kill him. After refusing, the person was allegedly asked whether they knew anyone who could do it.
Separately, U.S. law enforcement officials said there had been an attempt to organize the killing of a person in Lithuania in 2024. According to investigators, the 27-year-old Russian recruited an American to travel to the potential victim’s address and take photographs. He was allegedly promised $200 for the task.
After completing the assignment, the American was introduced to the 63-year-old Russian, who, investigators say, offered about $25,000 to kill the person, describing him as a “bad guy” who “lies about Russia.” The American refused.
According to the U.S. investigation, the network also recruited people for attacks in Europe, including in the Czech Republic and Lithuania. Its activities targeted, among others, Russian citizens and, more recently, countries that Russia considers allies of Ukraine.
In February 2025, WSJ reported that Russian intelligence services had a new shadow unit targeting the West and covert attacks in Europe and other countries. The Telegraph also reported that Russia was recruiting gangs to carry out sabotage at European defense facilities.
