Kremlin critic Kasparov warned of assassination threat by US, Lithuania

Russian opposition figure Garry Kasparov stated on Wednesday that security services in the US and Lithuania had warned him of an assassination threat. The warning comes after US authorities charged five individuals last month over alleged plots involving Russian intelligence to assassinate opposition figures living outside Russia.

Unconfirmed media reports have identified Kasparov, who resides in New York, along with Ilya Ponomaryov in Ukraine and Ivan Tyutrin in Lithuania, as potential targets. Kasparov, 63, wrote in a Substack post that while he and Tyutrin were not explicitly told they were targets, they were warned by security services in Lithuania and the US that their lives were in danger and that precautions should be taken.

Kasparov, whom Russia has designated as a "foreign agent" and "terrorist and extremist," vowed to continue his activism against what he called "Putin's murderous dictatorship." The Kremlin has previously denied conducting such plots on foreign soil and stated it saw no reason to comment on the US allegations in the absence of credible evidence.