Russian intelligence services allegedly planned the killings of targeted individuals in the United States and European countries supporting Ukraine, according to U.S. authorities, who have charged five people currently being sought.
According to an indictment made public by a federal court in Manhattan, a network allegedly linked to Russian intelligence services paid or attempted to pay individuals in the United States and elsewhere to surveil specific targets with the intention of killing them.
U.S. authorities also allege that recruited individuals were instructed to carry out attacks against civilian and military infrastructure in several European countries supporting Ukraine.
James C. Barnacle Jr., head of the FBI’s New York field office, said the investigation helped prevent the alleged plans from being carried out.
According to Barnacle, members of Russian intelligence services and their associates were attempting to “intimidate, threaten or kill people on U.S. soil and around the world.”
Darren B. Cox, head of the FBI’s Washington field office, also praised the work of FBI agents and U.S. partner agencies, saying the investigations helped stop attempts to carry out violent attacks in the United States.
Authorities allege that the network has been active since at least 2024 and has organized or carried out attacks and killings in different parts of the world, including the United States.
Investigators say the network had previously focused primarily on Russian dissidents and defectors. More recently, however, its alleged targets expanded to include individuals and countries supporting Ukraine.
One case outlined in the indictment involves a person living in the United States who, according to authorities, was recruited during the summer to track and eventually kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be in the United States.
In court documents, the individual is identified only as “U.S. Resident-1.” Authorities allege that the person was sent to two locations associated with the target and received detailed instructions for conducting surveillance. The individual was initially promised payments of $1,000 and $1,500.
After carrying out the surveillance, the person allegedly sent photographs and videos of locations connected to the target. The individual was later offered $40,000 to “eliminate” the target but refused.
According to the indictment, following the refusal, an alleged Russian intelligence operative sought other people in the United States to carry out the killing, offering substantial sums of money.
The allegations remain part of an ongoing criminal case, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
