US and Lithuanian Intelligence Warn Garry Kasparov and Russian Dissidents of Kremlin Assassination Plots

Intelligence warnings and the US indictment

Security services in the United States and Lithuania notified former chess world champion Garry Kasparov and dissident Ivan Tyutrin that their lives are under threat from Kremlin-linked operatives. The alerts followed a US Department of Justice indictment that charged five individuals for participating in a Russian intelligence network planning overseas attacks and assassinations. Media reports identified Kasparov in New York, Tyutrin in Lithuania, and former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev in Ukraine as targets of the operations. The US indictment outlines murder plots directed against Kremlin critics abroad, prompting US authorities to grant Kasparov heightened security protection in New York during the summer of 2026.

Kasparov vows to continue opposition work

Kasparov, who holds Croatian citizenship and resides in New York, addressed the threat in a statement published on his Substack newsletter The Next Move while visiting Strasbourg to lobby European institutions. He confirmed that both he and Tyutrin received warnings from Western intelligence services recommending urgent protective measures. The 63-year-old activist stated that threats from Moscow would not deter his political campaigning or his efforts to mobilize international backing for Ukraine.

I will not stop and I will not hide, even if I thought that were possible. The best defense is a good attack.

Kasparov also emphasized that his personal security remains inseparable from political developments in Russia.

My family and I will not be truly safe as long as Putin remains in power in Russia, as is the case for millions of people.

Details of operations against Tyutrin and Ponomarev

Tyutrin, who co-founded the Free Russia Forum with Kasparov in 2016, stated that Lithuanian and other Western intelligence services have warned him of active plots for two and a half years. The threats against Tyutrin intensified after he publicly delivered drones and supplies to Russian volunteer battalions fighting on behalf of Ukraine. During a 2024 trip to the United States, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents met Tyutrin at John F. Kennedy International Airport and provided two weeks of continuous protection in New York. Sourced reporting indicated that plans targeting Ponomarev, the sole Russian lawmaker who voted against the annexation of Crimea in 2014, reached an advanced stage and involved a recruitment bounty of $40,000 for a successful attack.

Exile and state blacklisting

Kasparov retired from competitive chess on 10 March 2005 after winning the Linares tournament, immediately redirecting his focus toward political opposition against Vladimir Putin. After facing arrests and intimidation, he left Russia in 2013 and has not returned since. Russian authorities designated Kasparov a foreign agent following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and placed him on an official register of terrorists and extremists in 2024. The Kremlin stated that it had no reason to comment on the US indictment without credible evidence, repeating previous denials of involvement in overseas attacks.