Five people have been charged in federal court over what prosecutors describe as a Russian intelligence-linked network that recruited people in the United States for surveillance and proposed killings. The **Russian murder charges** are allegations, not findings of guilt, and all five defendants are presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The two-count indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York on September 15, 2026. The Justice Department said all five defendants remained at large when it announced the case. The available records do not establish that any defendant has been arrested, appeared in court or entered a plea.
What the Russian murder charges allege
The 17-page indictment alleges that a network working for Russian intelligence services operated from at least 2024 through September 2026. Prosecutors say the group sought people inside and outside the United States to surveil dissidents, arrange killings and support attacks on civilian or military infrastructure in European countries perceived as aligned with Ukraine.
Those assertions form the government's case; they have not been tested at trial. The indictment is the formal charging document, and the Justice Department expressly said it remains an allegation. The **Russian murder charges** do establish that a federal grand jury approved two criminal counts, but they do not establish that the defendants committed the alleged conduct.
Five defendants face different counts
Count One charges all five defendants with conspiracy to finance terrorism: Yuri Khrameev, 63; Kirill Khrameev, 27; Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35; Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35; and Angel Eduardo Castro, 22. The Justice Department identifies the Khrameevs as Russian, Durruthy and Suarez as Cuban, and Castro as Venezuelan.
The government describes Yuri Khrameev as a former Russian intelligence colonel, Kirill Khrameev as an officer in Russia's Federal Security Service, and Durruthy as a coordinator of attacks and travel. It describes Suarez as a recruiter and Castro as a participant in recruiting U.S.-based people. Each description is an allegation in the **Russian murder charges**, not an adjudicated fact.
Count Two, a murder-for-hire conspiracy charge, names only Yuri Khrameev, Suarez and Castro. Kirill Khrameev and Durruthy are not charged in that count. The Justice Department says Count One carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and Count Two a maximum of 10 years. Those are statutory ceilings, not likely sentences or predictions of an outcome.
The alleged U.S. surveillance scheme
Prosecutors allege that Castro contacted a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn in July 2026 and relayed instructions from Suarez to photograph and record two locations associated with an unnamed Russian dissident. The indictment says the recruit was promised between $1,000 and $1,500 for surveillance and later offered $40,000 to kill the target.
The recruit conducted surveillance and sent photographs and videos, according to the indictment, but declined to carry out a killing. Prosecutors allege Suarez then asked whether the recruit could find someone else and sought additional U.S.-based recruits. The **Russian murder charges** do not identify the intended victim, and this article does not attempt to do so.
Associated Press reporting says federal authorities described the target as a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, D.C., area. AP also independently reviewed the charging allegations and reported that the FBI said it disrupted the plan.
The Lithuania and Europe allegations
The indictment separately alleges that Kirill and Yuri Khrameev recruited a U.S. citizen in 2025 to surveil a person living near Vilnius, Lithuania. The person accepted about $200 to take photographs but declined an alleged offer of about $25,000 to kill the target. Prosecutors say Yuri Khrameev then proposed attacks on infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine.
The government also alleges Durruthy helped coordinate travel and payments connected to attempted attacks in Prague in 2024 and at a Lithuanian radio-equipment manufacturer. Those claims provide context for Count One in the **Russian murder charges**, but they remain accusations. The indictment says a related Lithuanian case was still pending when the U.S. document was filed.
The U.S. case is distinct from Congress's separate action on Russia sanctions. A recent Civic Wire report explains the 2026 Russia sanctions bill; that legislation and these criminal allegations should not be conflated.
What happens next in the Russian murder charges
The immediate procedural obstacle is custody. Because the Justice Department said all five defendants were at large, there can be no ordinary arraignment on the **Russian murder charges** unless a defendant is arrested or otherwise brought before the court. The public materials inspected for this report did not identify defense lawyers or scheduled court appearances.
The Kremlin disputed the premise of the case without addressing the allegations in detail. Reuters reported that spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would not comment without what it considered credible evidence and tangible facts. Reuters also noted that Russia has previously denied conducting such plots abroad.
Future developments could include arrests, extradition efforts, court appearances or additional public filings, but none was established in the sources reviewed. Until then, the **Russian murder charges** remain a prosecution allegation supported publicly by an indictment and a Justice Department account, with the defendants' individual responses not yet available in the inspected record.