DOJ accuses Russian intelligence agents of plotting to murder U.S.-based dissident

Updated on: September 15, 2026 / 10:08 PM EDT / CBS News

The Justice Department is accusing several members of Russia's intelligence services of running a "global assassination network" that targeted Kremlin critics — including one alleged murder plot on U.S. soil over the summer.

Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment Tuesday against five people who belonged to what they called the "RIS Network," including a 63-year-old former Russian intelligence colonel named Yuri Khrameev, his son Kirill, two Cubans and one Venezuelan. All five defendants are believed to live in Russia and remain at large, the Justice Department said.

It marks the latest alleged attempt by a U.S. adversary to crack down on dissidents abroad, including in the United States and NATO-allied countries.

One of the murder-for-hire plots took place in July and August of this year, the indictment says. The Venezuelan operative and one of the Cuban operatives allegedly recruited a Brooklyn resident to take photos and videos of two locations associated with an unnamed Russian dissident, promising him $1,000 to $1,500 to carry out the "gravely serious work." Another $40,000 was offered to "eliminate" or "disappear" the target of the surveillance.

The operatives believed the Russian…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/