Russian Special Services Planned Assassinations of Kasparov and Other Opposition Figures in the US
This was reported by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. According to its information, which is also confirmed by a Sota source close to Kasparov's entourage, US authorities warned him this summer about an impending assassination attempt and provided him with enhanced security. Sources claim this is the first time since Kasparov left Russia and settled in New York in 2013 that such an event has occurred.
Another alleged target was reportedly former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, according to a source in his entourage.
The perpetrators were instructed to monitor two addresses in Washington associated with the intended victim. The US Department of Justice has not disclosed the person's name, referring to them as "Victim No. 1." According to the US investigation, in the summer of 2026, members of the network recruited an individual living in the US and offered them between $1,000 and $1,500 to film two addresses. The individual provided photographs and video to the clients, after which they were offered $40,000 to carry out a murder. The man refused, and was then asked to find another operative. One of the defendants also suggested that people from Mexico might be brought in to commit the killing.
The US Prosecutor's Office has charged five alleged members of the network. They include former Russian intelligence colonel Yuri Khrameev and his son Kirill Khrameev, whom US authorities describe as an FSB officer, as well as Cuban citizens Oemis Romagosa Durruti and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, and Venezuelan citizen Angel Eduardo Castro. According to the investigation, the network has been active since at least 2024 and was involved in preparing assassinations of Russian opposition figures and sabotage against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries supporting Ukraine.
US investigators believe that Suarez and Castro searched for operatives in the US, while Yuri Khrameev recruited people to murder Russian opposition figures. Romagosa Durruti, according to the prosecution's office, handled travel and logistics for network members, among other duties. The investigation also links him to the preparation of attacks in the Czech Republic and Lithuania in 2024.
Another assassination, according to the US prosecution, was being prepared in Lithuania. Kirill Khrameev offered a US citizen about $200 for photographs of the house of a Russian opposition figure living in the Vilnius area. After completing the task, the individual was introduced to Yuri Khrameev, who offered about $25,000 for the murder. Case files state that the perpetrators were instructed to stab or burn the victim using gasoline, but the operative refused.
US authorities have not disclosed the name of this intended victim. The target may have been Ivan Tyutrin, co-founder of the Free Russia Forum, whom Lithuanian police had previously warned about surveillance, though there is no direct confirmation of this. Other possible targets mentioned include Bashkir activist Ruslan Gabbasov, who lives in Lithuania, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has been living outside Russia since the 2024 prisoner exchange.
All five defendants remain at large. Each has been charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years. Yuri Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of ten years.
Garry Kasparov. Photo: Vasily Krestyaninov / SOTA