Federal authorities have revealed that Russian intelligence services are allegedly plotting targeted killings in the United States and European countries that support Ukraine. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging five individuals still at large for their involvement in a network linked to Russian intelligence. The indictment claims that this network has paid and attempted to pay individuals in the U.S. and other countries to surveil potential targets for possible assassinations. It also alleges that the group has sought to carry out acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European nations seen as allies of Ukraine. FBI officials emphasized the agency’s role in disrupting these plans. James Barnacle Jr., head of the FBI’s New York office, said that the FBI’s “relentless work” helped stop the conspiracy, which involved Russian intelligence operatives and their affiliates attempting to intimidate, threaten, or murder people both in the U.S. and abroad. Similarly, Darren Cox, head of the FBI’s Washington, D.C., office, praised the “extraordinary work” by multiple FBI field offices and partner agencies in stopping the plot. He noted that when the threat was first identified, the FBI’s Washington field office and its partners acted swiftly to prevent violent acts in the nation’s capital and across the country. According to the indictment, the network of individuals working for Russian intelligence services has been involved in planning and carrying out attacks and murders worldwide since at least 2024, including within the United States. The release described this network as “one arm” of Russia’s broader apparatus designed to conduct external attacks, including assassinations, around the world. Earlier, the group focused on targeting Russian dissidents and defectors, but more recently, the focus has shifted to nations perceived as allies of Ukraine. In recent months, authorities have reported that members of this network attempted to recruit individuals in the United States. One case involved an individual known only as “US Resident-1,” who was sent to two locations associated with a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in the U.S. This person was given explicit instructions on how to conduct surveillance and was promised $1,000 and $1,500 for the work. After collecting photographs and videos of the locations, the individual was offered $40,000 to “eliminate” or “disappear” the target. However, the person refused the offer. In response, the intelligence operative who made the offer attempted to recruit others in the U.S., offering them significant sums of money to carry out the task.