Russia planned to assassinate opposition figures Kasparov and Ponomarev in US
Photo: Garry Kasparov (Getty Images)
Russian intelligence services spent several months planning the assassinations of prominent opposition figures Garry Kasparov, Ilya Ponomarev and Vladimir Kara-Murza in the US and EU, El Mundo reports.
According to the outlet, assassination attempts were being planned against several Russian figures at once. Ponomarev and Kasparov were to be killed in the US. Kasparov has been granted official protection due to a real threat to his life.
The third potential victim was to be killed in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius. The attackers planned to stab him or douse him with gasoline and set him on fire.
Other targets of the Russian intelligence services included Kasparov's ally Ivan Tyutrin and Bashkir activist Ruslan Gabbasov. The recruitment of hitmen began in 2025, with $25,000 offered for carrying out a killing.
Network of hitmen uncovered in US
Earlier, the US Department of Justice announced the exposure of a sabotage network. The organization recruited people to conduct surveillance, assassinations and acts of sabotage in countries allied with Ukraine.
The organizers were former Russian intelligence colonel Yuri Khramеyev, who worked with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in his youth, and his son Kirill, a serving FSB officer.
Two Cuban nationals and one Venezuelan were also recruited to carry out the assignments. All the suspects are currently hiding in Russia.
It was previously reported that US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced charges against several Russian nationals who, according to him, are linked to Russian intelligence.
They are accused of financing terrorism and conspiring to carry out assassinations in various countries around the world.
