US prosecutors have charged five individuals – believed to be collaborating with Russian intelligence services – with conspiracy to finance terrorism and plotting a contract killing, Politico reports.
Charges unsealed on the 15th of September state that the network recruited agents to conduct reconnaissance and assassinations within the US, as well as to attack civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that are – or are perceived to be – allies of Ukraine. None of the five suspects have been apprehended.
The indictment notes that the group recently approached an individual living in the US, offering payment to surveil and kill a prominent Russian dissident residing there. Two alleged recruiters offered 40,000 dollars to eliminate or “make the target disappear” and discussed hiring another person to carry out the killing.
In another instance, an alleged Russian intelligence agent offered 25,000 dollars for the assassination of a dissident living in Lithuania and subsequently proposed attacking warehouses or electrical substations in countries aiding Ukraine.
The terrorist group is believed to have coordinated operations in the Czech Republic and Lithuania in 2024.
Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg stated that the suspects operated as part of an international network of assassins that extended into the US. He accused the suspects of acting on behalf of the Kremlin.
The charges brought by the US come at a time when European capitals are facing Russian influence operations. Germany clearly indicated that an explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig Airport in August was linked to Moscow. On the 15th of September, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that had entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus, and a Russian warship fired flares at Danish helicopters.
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