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2026-09-16 17:33:37 UTC

WarMonitor on Nostr: The Justice Department has unsealed charges against five alleged members of a Russian ...

The Justice Department has unsealed charges against five alleged members of a Russian intelligence-linked network accused of recruiting people in the U.S. to conduct surveillance and assassinations.

According to the indictment, the network recruited a U.S. based Venezuelan this summer to surveil a prominent Russian dissident in the Washington, D.C., area, offering $1,000–$1,500 for surveillance and $40,000 for the killing. When the recruit declined to carry out the murder himself, the alleged recruiters asked whether he knew someone who could do it.

The indictment alleges the network previously offered a U.S. citizen $25,000 to assassinate another Russian dissident in Lithuania, and discussed attacks against electrical substations, warehouses, fuel facilities and other infrastructure in NATO countries supporting Ukraine.

The five defendants include a former Russian intelligence colonel, an alleged FSB officer, and associates based in Russia. All remain at large.

The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.