Russian hitman arrested in Warsaw was targeting Ukrainian rapper Kyivstoner

Ukrainian rapper and blogger Slevin Dadyan (Albert Vasyliev), better known as Kyivstoner, was the target of a Russian hitman who was recently arrested in Poland on suspicion of collaborating with the Russian secret services.

Source: European Pravda, citing Polish radio station RMF FM

Details: Dadyan had been accused by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) of overseeing and managing the logistics of supplying drones to Moscow Oblast for use in attacks on strategic targets in and around the Russian capital.

The drones were to be smuggled from Slovakia via Poland and Belarus. The musician has been added to the list of individuals involved in extremist and terrorist activities.

The Kremlin claims that the rapper has been collaborating with the Ukrainian security services. Dadyan denies the allegations.

Slevin Dadyan rose to fame by posting short comedy videos online. He was one of the founders of the well-known Ukrainian band Hryby.

He then embarked on a solo career as Kyivstoner and has also appeared in films. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Dadyan publicly condemned the aggression.

Up until 2022, Kyivstoner spent a great deal of time in Moscow, where he collaborated with the well-known Russian rapper Vasiliy Vakulenko (Basta). He was criticised in the Ukrainian media for working in the Russian Federation during the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas.

After the full-scale war broke out in February 2022, Dadyan managed to leave Kyiv with his young son and wife and travel to the US, where he remained for the next two years.

Since 2024, he has publicly stated that he lives with his family in Slovakia. He has continued his musical career and is also involved in e-sports.

The artist has said that he holds a US passport in the name of Slevin Dadyan.

Background:

• Recently it emerged that the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW), in cooperation with the police, had detained a Russian national who was plotting to murder a dual US-Ukrainian citizen on the orders of the Russian intelligence services.
• On 15 June, Russian artist Semyon Skrepetsky, who was known for his criticism of Vladimir Putin, was murdered in the Polish town of Biała Podlaska in the Lublin Voivodeship.
• A gunman approached Skrepetsky and pulled the trigger twice. When Skrepetsky fell to the ground, the killer went over to him and fired three more shots at point-blank range.

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