US accuses Russia of trying to kill Ukrainian allies overseas

What the report says

The US Department of Justice has accused five men of taking part in an alleged Russian-linked plot to intimidate, threaten or kill people seen as supporting Ukraine, including targets in the United States and Europe. According to the BBC’s report on the DOJ statement, the men are said to have ties to Russian intelligence and to have tried to pay people to carry out surveillance and attacks.

The defendants include Russian father and son Yuri Khrameev and Kirill Khrameev, a Cuban national based in Russia named Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, and two others, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro. US officials say some of the men helped recruit individuals in the US to monitor and potentially kill a Russian dissident, while another alleged effort involved trying to target a person in Lithuania described by investigators as critical of Russia. All five are currently at large, and the charges include conspiracy to finance terrorism; some defendants also face a charge of conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

The FBI said the group conspired to threaten or murder people in the US and around the world. The BBC also reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would not comment without credible evidence. The allegations come amid broader concern among Western governments about suspected Russian operations against opponents abroad, although the cases remain allegations at this stage.