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Russia accused of ordering assassinations on US soil

newsSep 20, 202612284

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday unsealed indictments in absentia alleging five people working for Russian intelligence conspired to "conduct attacks and murders around the world, including in the United States." The indictment names a serving FSB officer, Kirill Khrameev, his father Yuri Khrameev, and three Latin American nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro. FBI investigators uncovered encrypted Spanish-language messages in which one alleged conspirator offered $40,000 to surveil and then "eliminate" a prominent Russian dissident living in Washington, and discussed recruiting US residents or bringing assassins from Mexico after planned contractors were "delayed." Exiled journalist Roman Dobrokhotov, identified in a separate UK trial as a prior target of a Russian spy ring, said the revelations showed a shift from the old informal rule against killing on rival soil, saying "Nowhere is safe." The disclosures occurred as dissidents prepared to attend the Washington Dialogue conference near the White House and have prompted attendees to reassess security and behavior in the United States. The indictment and dissidents' reactions raise questions about whether Kremlin operatives have abandoned a longstanding taboo on attacks in US territory and could change how US-based Russian opponents are protected and investigated.

Eliot Higgins
@eliothiggins.bsky.social

‘The rules have changed’: has Russia begun to order assassinations on US soil? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...

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