Russia may have been preparing the murders of Kasparov and other opposition figures in the United States — media

Russian intelligence services may have been preparing the assassinations of opposition figures abroad, including Garry Kasparov and former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev. UNN reports this, citing materials from the U.S. Department of Justice and an investigation by El Mundo.

According to the U.S. investigation and media reports, some of the operations were planned to be carried out  this summer in the United States.

Details

In mid-September, the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against five people whom U.S. prosecutors link to a network operating in the interests of Russian intelligence services. According to investigators, the network was involved in surveilling Russian dissidents and defectors, preparing possible assassinations, as well as sabotage operations in countries supporting Ukraine.

The charging documents state that in the summer of 2026, members of the network recruited a person who was in the United States to surveil a prominent Russian opposition figure whose name is concealed in the case materials under the designation Victim-1. The person was given two addresses associated with the target and instructions for covertly recording photographs and videos. After the assignment was completed, the organizers offered approximately $40,000 to eliminate  the person. When the recruit refused to carry out the murder himself, he was offered the opportunity to find another perpetrator. One of the organizers also claimed to have contacts with a group in Mexico that could carry out such an assignment.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, preparations for the operation had been ongoing since at least late July. In August, the recruited individual was given geolocation data, addresses, and recommendations regarding operational security, including orders to put the phone into airplane mode and delete correspondence.

Whom they may have planned to kill

The U.S. Department of Justice is not disclosing the names of the potential victims.

At the same time, El Mundo, citing sources, reports that the first victim may have been former Russian State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, who has lived between Ukraine and the United States since leaving Russia. The network of Russian spies may have surveilled his home and office in Washington. 

The publication separately reported a threat to former world chess champion and Russian opposition figure Garry Kasparov. This summer, U.S. law enforcement officials warned the man that he might have become a target of Russian intelligence services. He was reportedly provided with special protection afterward.

Information about the heightened threat to Kasparov was also partly confirmed by the Renew Democracy Initiative, with which he is associated. The organization said that following information from U.S. authorities, it had been forced to strengthen security measures.

Context

The U.S. investigation also refers to a separate operation that the Kremlin may have been preparing in Lithuania. According to prosecutors, a Russian handler recruited a U.S. citizen near the Estonian-Russian border and instructed him to photograph the address of another Russian émigré near Vilnius.

After conducting surveillance, the perpetrator was allegedly offered approximately $25,000 to kill the "target." Among the possible methods discussed were a knife attack and the use of an incendiary mixture. The perpetrator refused.

El Mundo assumes that the main victim in this case may have been one of the Russian opposition activists living in Lithuania, in particular Ivan Tyutrin. However, there is no official confirmation of this. The publication also mentions Vladimir Kara-Murza among the possible potential targets, although his name is likewise not given in the U.S. prosecutors’ materials.

Who is involved in the case

The U.S. Department of Justice names five suspected members of the network.

They include Yury Khrameyev, whom U.S. law enforcement describes as a former colonel in the Russian intelligence services; his son Kirill Khrameyev, whom the United States links to the FSB; as well as Cuban nationals Oemis Romagosa Durruti and Yaydel Delgado Suarez and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro.

They are accused of conspiring to finance terrorism, while some of the individuals involved are also accused of conspiring to arrange a contract killing. Under U.S. law, the defendants could face decades in prison on some of the charges.

The network is also linked to acts of sabotage in Europe

According to the U.S. investigation, the network’s activities were not limited to targeting Russian opposition figures. Its members are also linked to preparations for acts of sabotage in European countries that support Ukraine. The case materials mention operations in the Czech Republic and Lithuania, as well as potential targets in Poland.

According to the prosecution, they discussed setting fire to warehouses, railway and energy infrastructure facilities, as well as other attacks against NATO countries.

Separately, the U.S. authorities link members of the network to an attack on a Lithuanian company that manufactured mobile radio equipment for the Ukrainian military.

Is there evidence of a personal order from putin

Several media publications have put forward the theory that operations to eliminate Kasparov and other opposition figures may have been carried out on the personal orders of vladimir putin. However, the publicly available materials from the U.S. Department of Justice currently contain no evidence of such a direct order. The American prosecution points to the suspected network’s ties to Russian intelligence services and its activities in the interests of the Russian state, but does not claim that putin personally ordered a specific killing.

What they are saying in moscow 

As of September 30, the Russian authorities had not publicly provided a substantive response to reports about the possible preparation of the killings of Kasparov, Ponomaryov and other Russian opposition figures abroad.

Reminder

As UNN reported, NATO is strengthening the exchange of intelligence data due to the threat from russia.