"A matter of honor for intelligence": Rapper Kyivstoner was the target of the killer in Warsaw
The sensational announcement by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk regarding the capture of a Russian intelligence agent preparing an assassination in Warsaw has now been linked to a specific name. According to Polish radio station RMF FM, the primary target of the liquidator was to be the popular Ukrainian rapper, former member of the group "Griby" (Mushrooms), and blogger Kyivstoner. The musician, whose real name is Albert Vasilyev, holds a US passport under the name Slevin Dadyan — it was precisely this detail about the victim's dual citizenship that allowed journalists to identify the target of the foiled terror attack.
The suspect — a 29-year-old Russian citizen from the Donbas region — was detained during a special operation by the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) and Warsaw police on August 7. On the eve of the announcement, Donald Tusk emphasized that this incident marked the first confirmed case in NATO history where Moscow attempted to physically liquidate a US citizen on the territory of the European alliance. The court promptly ordered the would-be murderer to be held in custody for three months.
Context: Absurd FSB accusations and a death sentence on state television
The hunt by Russian special services for the showman began after the FSB of the Russian Federation added Kyivstoner to the "terrorist" registry in July. The Russian investigation concocted a spy plot, accusing the artist of organizing large-scale smuggling of combat drones. According to the FSB, the rapper led the delivery of 35 FPV drones from Kyiv through Slovakia and Poland to the Moscow region, disguised as "Spanish ceramic tiles," for an attack on a strategic defense industry plant.
Kyivstoner himself, residing in Slovakia, harshly mocked the law enforcement officials at the time, stating on Instagram that he was "just chilling and playing Dota 2," calling the accusations "the Kremlin's most uncool investment." However, in Moscow, they did not listen to the jokes. Immediately after the FSB release, a segment aired on the main propaganda channel "Russia 1," where VGTRK war correspondent Sergey Zenin openly called the musician a terrorist and emphasized that "his destruction will be a matter of honor for our intelligence."
Contradictory data
There is a clear discrepancy between the version of the Russian law enforcement agencies and the actual state of affairs. The FSB claims that Kyivstoner personally coordinated the delivery of drones, using the help of "Moldovan criminal groups and teenagers." At the same time, the musician himself categorically denies any involvement in any military logistics, having been in Slovakia at that time. Polish special services, confirming the fact of the assassination attempt, do not comment on the details of the FSB's accusation regarding drone attacks, focusing exclusively on the fact of the attempted murder of a US and Ukrainian citizen on NATO territory.
Analysis: Why does the Kremlin want to liquidate a rapper?
Until 2022, Kyivstoner lived in Moscow for a long time, actively collaborated with Russian rapper Basta (Vasily Vakulenko), and was regularly criticized in Ukraine for his ambiguous position. However, after February 24, 2022, the artist sharply condemned Russian aggression, left Kyiv, and began financially assisting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For Russian special services, the exemplary murder of such a media figure would solve several tasks at once. First, this is an attempt to "back up" their own dubious reporting on the discovery of "SBU drone networks in Europe" with a concrete case. Second, it is an act of intimidation for all Ukrainian and Russian artists who have a background of working in Russia but have chosen the side of Ukraine.
The fact that Polish counterintelligence acted in advance saved the musician's life, but it took the hybrid confrontation between Russia and NATO to a new, even more dangerous level — the level of open political terror against American citizens in Europe.
