Key facts
- Ukrainian rapper Albert Vasiliev, known as Kyivstoner, was reportedly the intended target of an assassination plot.
- A Russian national was detained in Poland on August 7 in connection with the alleged plot.
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed the detention and stated the plot was orchestrated by Russian intelligence.
- Vasiliev holds both Ukrainian and U.S. citizenship.
- Russia's Federal Security Service had previously accused Vasiliev of assisting in a drone attack against a Moscow Oblast defense enterprise.
Polish authorities have detained a Russian national allegedly plotting to assassinate Ukrainian rapper and blogger Albert Vasiliev, known by his stage name Kyivstoner, on behalf of Russian intelligence. The plot was thwarted before it could be carried out, according to Polish news outlet RMF24.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on August 13 the detention of the Russian man, who was apprehended on August 7. Tusk stated that this marked the first instance of an alleged attempt by Russia to assassinate an American citizen on NATO territory, though he did not reveal the identity of the intended target at the time.
Vasiliev, who holds both Ukrainian and U.S. citizenship, was previously accused by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in July of helping to organize a drone attack against a defense enterprise in Moscow Oblast in cooperation with Ukrainian security services. The FSB claimed the drones were smuggled from Slovakia through Poland and Belarus. Vasiliev has denied any involvement.
The news emerges amidst heightened concerns over Moscow's hybrid operations within NATO countries, with Western intelligence agencies linking Russia to various sabotage and assassination attempts across Europe. Separately, a Russian court sentenced a Russian man named Georgy Pirogov to 23 years in prison for allegedly spying for Polish intelligence services, a day after Tusk's announcement.