In brief
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, now a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin, told U.S. and Lithuanian security services that his life was in danger amid a fresh indictment of Kremlin-linked operatives. The Justice Department named five men accused of running an international assassination network targeting Russian exiles. Kasparov said he was placed under enhanced protection over the summer and warned that no matter what he will continue to speak out. Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev, also named in the indictment, confirmed a new level of escalation but declined to confirm receipt of the warning. The case underscores the growing threat Kremlin agents pose to dissidents abroad.
Former chess champion Garry Kasparov says U.S. officials warned him that his life was under threat after the DOJ unsealed an indictment charging Kremlin agents with plotting attacks on Russian dissidents worldwide.
Kasparov, who fled Russia in 2013 after founding the Free Russia Forum, has long opposed President Vladimir Putin’s regime. In a Substack post he said both he and co‑founder Ivan Tyutrin were told to take precautions, although no explicit target list was supplied.
The indictment names five men—Yuri Khrameev, Kirill Khrameev, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro—who allegedly run a global “RIS Network” recruiting U.S. citizens to carry out killings for the Kremlin. All five are at large.
According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, U.S. and Lithuanian security services warned Kasparov and Ilya Ponomarev, the only Russian MP to vote against the annexation of Crimea, “over the summer.” Ponomarev’s Moscow Times response framed the allegation as a new “level of escalation” without confirming the warning.
Kasparov reiterated his refusal to hide, insisting that his family and he cannot feel truly safe until Putin is gone. The case highlights the Kremlin’s growing reach into the diaspora and the intelligence community’s role in counter‑terrorism.
