Poland says it foiled Russian plot to kill Ukrainian rapper Kyivstoner

Poland has detained a suspect in a plot to assassinate Ukrainian rapper Albert Vasyliev, known as Kyivstoner, the Polish radio station RMF FM reported, citing sources.

The suspect is a native of the Donbas, the station said. Polish security services believe Russian intelligence ordered him to kill the musician.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on August 13 that Polish authorities had detained a Russian citizen, recruited by Russian intelligence, on suspicion of plotting a killing. Tusk said the intended target held passports from two countries: Ukraine and the United States.

Kyivstoner holds citizenship in both countries.

After Tusk’s statement, RMF FM reported that the plot had targeted a “defense industry entrepreneur” who supplied his plant’s products to Ukraine.

• Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced in mid-July that it had thwarted a massive drone attack on a strategically important plant in a residential area of the Moscow region. According to the FSB, Ukraine’s Security Service planned the attack. The FSB claimed that 35 drones were to be launched remotely from a hangar near the facility. The FSB also alleged that Vasyliev was involved in organizing the attack. Vasyliev himself responded: “Are you out of your minds? Run your mouth all you want, but not about this. This is unacceptable to me!”
• Vasyliev is best known as a member of the group Griby (“Mushrooms”), which he left in 2017. After the war in Ukraine began, Vasyliev left Kyiv for the United States, and years later moved to Bratislava. His wife said he has been providing financial support to the Ukrainian military.

How we use AI to translate

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.