Washington DC [US], September 16 (ANI): The US Department of Justice has unsealed charges against five individuals allegedly working for Russian intelligence services to carry out attacks and murders around the world, including in the United States.According to the unsealed indictment issued on Wednesday, the network allegedly recruited and paid individuals in the US and elsewhere to conduct pre-operational surveillance and carry out targeted killings, while also commissioning attacks against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries aligned, or perceived to be aligned, with Ukraine.The five defendants remain at large, the Justice Department said.“We will not tolerate efforts to finance terrorist activities and engage in acts of violence—particularly when these activities are commissioned by state actors and touch American soil,” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald said in the statement.“As alleged, the defendants, working for the intelligence services of Russia, conspired to cause destruction and mayhem around the world, including right here in the United States,” McDonald added, describing the alleged network as “brazen, aggressive, and far-reaching.”US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department and FBI were working to prevent America’s adversaries from carrying out violence in the country.“It is our job to stop America’s adversaries from unleashing violence and terror on American soil,” Blanche said.“And that’s precisely what we are doing thanks to the work of the FBI and our Justice Department prosecutors,” he added.The defendants named in the indictment are Yuri Khrameev, a former Russian intelligence colonel; his son Kirill Khrameev, identified as an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service; Cuban national Oemis Romagoza Durruthy; Cuban national Yaidel Delgado Suarez, also known as “Viking”; and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro, according to the Justice Department.Prosecutors allege that three of the defendants were senior members of what the indictment describes as the Russian Intelligence Services Network, or RIS Network, which allegedly focuses on attacks against Russian dissidents and people in countries perceived as supporting Ukraine.US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A Eisenberg said the defendants allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States.“These defendants allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States, attempting to recruit U.S. citizens and foreigners to carry out killings at the behest of the Kremlin,” Eisenberg said.The indictment alleges that, during the summer, Suarez recruited a US-based individual to conduct surveillance on a prominent Russian dissident believed to be residing in the United States.Prosecutors said the individual was offered between USD 1,000 and USD 1,500 for surveillance and was later offered USD 40,000 to “eliminate” or “disappear” the target.According to the indictment, Suarez and Castro also sought to identify someone who could carry out the killing after the recruited individual said he did not want to do it himself.The Justice Department further alleges that the network previously attempted to recruit a US citizen to surveil and kill a person in Lithuania who the network allegedly described as a “bad guy” who was “telling lies about Russia.”Prosecutors allege that Yuri Khrameev offered the US citizen approximately USD 25,000 to kill the target and later proposed alternative acts, including setting fire to property or attacking an electrical substation.The indictment also alleges that Durruthy coordinated logistics for attacks in the Czech Republic and Lithuania in 2024, including travel arrangements and communications with participants.FBI officials said the alleged operation was disrupted through coordination among multiple field offices and partner agencies.“The FBI disrupted this operation through relentless work and rock-solid partnership,” said James C Barnacle Jr, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office.Darren B Cox, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said the charges followed efforts to disrupt alleged Russian attempts to conduct violent acts in the United States.“The charges announced today represent the culmination of extraordinary work by multiple FBI field offices, components, and partner agencies that collectively disrupted Russia’s attempts to conduct violent acts in our nation’s capital and throughout the United States,” Cox said.The defendants are charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.Khrameev, Suarez and Castro also face a conspiracy to commit murder for hire charge carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years.The Justice Department stressed that the charges are allegations and that all five defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. (ANI)(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)