US Justice Department accuses Russian intelligence agents of plotting assassinations
The US Department of Justice has charged a group of Russian nationals linked to Russian intelligence services with financing terrorism and conspiring to carry out contract killings. Among the planned targets was a Russian dissident believed to be located in Washington.
US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced charges against a group of Russian nationals whom American authorities link to Russian intelligence services. The announcement was made during a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, according to ABC News.
According to the attorney general, the suspects worked for Russian intelligence and were planning a series of assassinations around the world. Specifically, the group was preparing an attack on a "Russian dissident" believed to be located in Washington.
Blanche did not name the defendants, did not specify which Russian opposition figure the planned attack targeted, and did not disclose when it was intended to take place. The case is being heard in the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York.
Previous incidents
Western countries have repeatedly recorded the activity of Russian assassins on their territory. The most notorious cases include the 2006 poisoning of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London, and the 2018 attack on former GRU agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, Britain, using the "Novichok" nerve agent. In August 2019 in Berlin, Russian officer Vadim Krasikov shot dead former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
The US Department of Justice regularly files criminal cases against Russian nationals for cybercrimes, espionage, and sanctions evasion. However, the exposure of plans to physically eliminate dissidents directly on US territory points to a significant escalation in the activity of Russian intelligence services.
