FBI thwarts Russian plot to kill a prominent dissident in D.C.

The useful part

The intelligence services of the Russian Federation are plotting to carry out targeted killings in the U.S. and in European nations supporting Ukraine, federal authorities said Tuesday in announcing they'd thwarted a plot to kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in Washington, D.C. Five people assumed to be living abroad were charged in the plot, according to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.

How it works

• It said a network of the Russian intelligence services has paid and tried to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries since 2024 to surveil and then kill Russian dissidents.
• The associates recruited by 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...
• Barnacle Jr., head of New York's FBI office, said the agency disrupted the plans "through relentless work" as members of the intelligence services and their affiliates "conspired to intimidate, threaten, or...
• Previously the network had focused on Russian dissidents and defectors but following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine had targeted nations perceived to be allies of Ukraine, the release said.
• Recently, members of the network have tried to recruit multiple people in the United States, it said.

Details worth keeping

Attorney Jamie McDonald said in the release...