DOJ charges Russian agents with plotting attacks, including in the U.S.

The unsealing of these charges is a stark reminder that great-power rivalry is no longer confined to sanctions, cyber operations, or proxy conflicts — it has a street-level component. According to the indictment, the defendants are not merely hackers or disinformation operatives; they are accused of being part of a network that plans physical attacks. The Justice Department's language is unusually direct, describing the group as a deliberate instrument of the Russian state rather than a collection of loose operatives. For those who have long argued that Moscow engages in sabotage and assassination plots abroad, this case is vindication. The phrasing in the indictment — that the network is "one arm of the Russian Federation's apparatus used to carry out external attacks" — suggests prosecutors are confident in their evidence and are drawing a direct line from the Kremlin to the alleged conspirators. That level of specificity in a charging document is rare and signals that this may be more than a symbolic gesture. However, skeptics of the charges — and there are always skeptics in such high-stakes matters — will note that indictments are not convictions. Defense attorneys