Kasparov Confirms US, Lithuanian Warnings Amid DOJ Charges of Russian Assassination Plots Targeting Dissidents

Former world chess champion and prominent Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov has publicly confirmed that U.S. and Lithuanian security services warned him of an imminent threat to his life, linking it to a U.S. Department of Justice indictment unsealed in mid-September 2026. The DOJ charged five individuals allegedly tied to Russian intelligence with conspiring to conduct surveillance and murder-for-hire plots against Russian opposition figures abroad, including one target in the United States (referred to as Victim-1) and another in Lithuania (Victim-2). Kasparov, who has lived in New York since 2013, stated in a Substack post that while he and Free Russia Forum co-founder Ivan Tyutrin were not explicitly named as the redacted targets, authorities advised them to take precautions, which he has followed. He emphasized his resolve not to hide or stop his activism. Media reports, including from El Mundo, have identified Kasparov and exiled former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev as the likely U.S. targets, with the plot against Ponomarev described as more advanced before the recruited operative backed out. Additional alleged targets in Lithuania included Tyutrin and Bashkir activist Ruslan Gabbasov. The indictment details recruitment of U.S. citizens for surveillance and offers of up to $40,000 for killings, with defendants including former Russian intelligence colonel Yuri Khrameev and his FSB officer son Kirill. Russia has denied the allegations, citing a lack of credible evidence. This case marks one of the first documented instances of alleged Russian intelligence operations targeting dissidents on U.S. soil.