Belarusian Spy-Nude Model Detained in Poland

Daria Ostapenko arrived in Poland and wasted little time nestling into the bustling Belarusian opposition in Warsaw, who are part of the more than 50,000 Belarusians thought to currently be living in Poland.

Here, she became active in the Belarusian opposition to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, according to Polish and Belarussian opposition news sources.

Aside from her “activism” against the Lukashenko regime, Ostapenko made ends meet as a model on Only Fans, a paid online service where models produce pornography for their subscribers. Ostapenko, according to the Belarusian opposition news service, in her native Belarus, did more than strip for money: She also worked as a prostitute – something that opened her to coercion from the Belarusian Committee on State Security (KGB).

Opposition news reports indicate that Ostapenko’s chosen profession made her “exceptionally susceptible to recruitment” as Belarusian authorities may have caught her violating Belarus’ notoriously strict laws on prostitution and pornography to “flip” her to become a spy. Sources reported that Ostapenko may have begun cooperating with Lukashenko’s henchmen as early as 2017.

Zerkalo reports that between 2018 and 2019, while the Belarusian opposition’s “Tell the Truth” campaign was in full swing, Ostapenko took a leading role and became known among others involved in the democratic opposition.

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Observers attribute the crackdown to a presidential election scheduled for January 26.

Likewise, Ostapenko was known to have sought out and befriended more radical members of the opposition who were seeking to overthrow the Lukashenko regime, including those in a paramilitary unit. Those interviewed said that Ostapenko’s unusually tattooed looks made her memorable.

Ostapenko’s distinctive dyed hair and multiple tattoos allow for a seamless reverse-image search, which revealed a 2022 Belarusian language interview where she says she “was always attracted to a bright and unusual appearance. Still as a teenager, I constantly dyed my hair bright, braided dreads and Senegalese braids, felt a weakness in tattoos,” a hobby which she says that she hid from her mother.

Photo of Daria Ostapenko's back. PHOTO: Zerkalo

The fast times of being a spy/porn star came crashing down for Ostapenko due to her own error: News reports indicate that Ostapenko, while inebriated from alcohol, disclosed to her friends that she was working for the Belarusian security services. That very day, Polish authorities arrested Ostapenko and indicated that on her phone they had discovered evidence of ongoing communications with intelligence officers.

A judge has ruled that Ostapenko, currently in pretrial detention, can be held up to three months before the legal proceedings against her continue.