US accuses Russia of trying to kill Ukrainian allies overseas

Image source, Getty ImagesByMalu Cursino The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has accused Russia of plotting to murder Ukrainian allies in the US and Europe.

In a statement on Tuesday, the DoJ charged five men allegedly connected to the Russian Intelligence Services (RIS). The men are accused of paying, or trying to pay, people in the US and overseas to target those "aligned, or perceived to be aligned, with Ukraine.

O porta‑voz do Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, disse aos repórteres na quarta‑feira que Moscou não vai comentar até ouvir ou ver “qualquer evidência credível” ou “fatos concretos”.

It is not clear if the five accused are in the United States, or in a different location.

Washington has charged all five men with participating in a conspiracy to finance terrorism, which carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

Três dos réus são “membros de alto escalão da rede RIS”, disse o DoJ.

Among them are Russian father and son Yuri Khrameev, 63, and Kirill Khrameev, 27. Khrameev senior was a colonel in the Russian intelligence services and his son is an officer in the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB).

The third high-ranking suspect is Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a 35-year-old Cuban national who the US describe as "an influential member of the Cuban diaspora living in Russia who has coordinated attacks for the RIS network.

Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35, and Angel Eduardo Castro, 22, are the other two defendants.

O par é acusado de recrutar ou tentar recrutar indivíduos com base nos EUA para “survejar e tentar assassinar um dissidente russo proeminente com base nos EUA.”.

The FBI's James Barnacle said the group "conspired to intimidate, threaten, or murder people on US soil and around the world.

One of the incidents is as recent as this summer. The DoJ described how the RIS network was able to recruit someone in the US to surveil and eventually murder a Russian dissident in the US.

O DoJ disse que o recrutamento do RIS não foi concluído, o que levou Suarez a tentar recrutar “multiple other individuals within the United States”. Ele supostamente ofereceu “substantial sums of money to carry out the targeting of US based victims.”.

The release by the DoJ goes on to list other instances in which the accused allegedly tried to recruit others to kill those who were a perceived threat to Russia.

It said that in 2025, Khrameev junior allegedly recruited a US citizen to surveil and murder someone in Lithuania who was "telling lies about Russia". The release quotes Khrameev as saying the purpose was to target "all the countries that are helping Ukraine.

Khrameev senior, Suarez and Castro are the only ones also charged with "participating in a conspiracy to commit murder for hire". If found guilty, this charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

It is not the first time authorities thwart threats of this kind.

No mês passado, o Primeiro-Ministro polonês Donald Tusk disse que as autoridades haviam detido um indivíduo supostamente trabalhando para o Kremlin e que estava conspirando para matar um cidadão americano-uecano em Varsóvia.

Tusk told reporters the American-Ukrainian citizen "was uncomfortable for the Putin regime", adding: "We have to accept the assumption that the Putin regime will try to eliminate people who are inconvenient for various reasons.

In 2024, German authorities were reportedly warned by US intelligence of a Russian plot to kill Armin Papperger, the head of Germany's biggest arms company Rheinmetall.

Moscou descartou a acusação na época, com o porta‑voz do Kremlin, Peskov, dizendo: "Tudo é apresentado no estilo de outra história falsa, portanto tais relatos não podem ser levados a sério.

The fresh accusations from the DoJ come at a time of closer relations between Moscow and Washington following US President Donald Trump's return to the White House in 2025.

A few weeks ago, the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) visited Moscow for talks with figures from Russia's intelligence services - an unconventional move that led to speculation.

The Kremlin confirmed that talks between John Ratcliffe and the intelligence services had taken place. President Trump did not say what was discussed but described the meeting as "semi-routine.