Ukrainian rapper intended target of alleged Russian assassination plot in Poland, media reports
on Google
The Ukrainian rapper Albert Vasiliev, known under the stage name Kyivstoner, was the intended target of a thwarted assassination plot orchestrated by Russian intelligence, Polish news outlet RMF24 reported on Aug. 14.
The news comes after Polish authorities announced that a Russian man plotting to kill a U.S.-Ukrainian citizen in Poland was detained on Aug. 7.
Vasiliev is a blogger, actor, rapper, and a former member of the Griby band. Before 2022, he spent extended time living and working in Russia.
After the outbreak of the full-scale Russian invasion, Vasiliev left Kyiv for the U.S. He holds both Ukrainian and U.S. passport, on which he goes by the name Slevin Dadyan.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) accussed the rapper in July of helping to organize a drone attack against a defense enterprise in Moscow Oblast in cooperation with Ukrainian security services.
The Russian intelligence agency claimed the drones were smuggled from Slovakia through Poland and Belarus. Vasiliev has denied any involvement.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Aug. 13 the detention of a Russian man allegedly plotting the killing of a U.S.-Ukrainian citizen in Warsaw, on behalf of Russian intelligence.
"This marks the first instance where someone, acting on Russian orders, has attempted to assassinate an American citizen on the territory of another NATO country," Tusk said, without revealing the identity of the inteded target.
A day after Tusk's announcement, a Russian court sentenced a Russian man Georgy Pirogov to 23 years in prison for allegedly spying for Polish intelligence services.
The news comes amid growing alarm over Moscow's hybrid operations on NATO territory, with Western intelligence agencies linking Russia to numerous sabotage attacks and assassination plots in Europe.
