Indictment says FBI shut down Russian plot to kill U.S. individuals, target Ukraine supporters

The intelligence services of the Russian Federation are plotting to carry out targeted killings in the United States and in European nations supporting Ukraine, federal authorities said on Tuesday (September 15, 2026) as they announced charges against five people who remain at large.

An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court said a network of the intelligence services has paid and attempted to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries to surveil targets to be killed with plans to then kill them.

The associates recruited in the network also have been solicited to carry out acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that are perceived to be aligned with Ukraine, the indictment said.