US Charges Five in Global Russian Intelligence Assassination Plot
· World · CBS News, Financial Times, Al Jazeera
The US Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment against five members of the so-called RIS Network, including a former Russian intelligence colonel, for allegedly plotting to murder Kremlin critics. The group is accused of orchestrating a global assassination network, including a specific murder-for-hire plot on US soil in Brooklyn during July and August. Operatives reportedly offered a Brooklyn resident $40,000 to eliminate an unnamed Russian dissident, though the individual refused to carry out the killing. Additionally, the defendants allegedly attempted to recruit a US citizen in Lithuania to murder another target who was accused of spreading anti-Russian sentiment. All five defendants are believed to be in Russia and remain at large.
Why it matters
The indictment underscores the ongoing risks faced by dissidents living in the US and NATO-allied countries from foreign state-sponsored actors. It also marks a significant escalation in US-Russia legal tensions regarding transnational repression.
Read the original report — CBS News
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