In today's #vatnik soup, I'll introduce a Ukrainian businessman, Dmytro Firtash. He's best known for funneling money into the pro-Russian political campaigns in Ukraine. He's also been connected to the Russian Mafia boss Semion Mogilevich.
1/14
Firtash established his trading company Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and eventually moved to Moscow in the early 1990s. Firtash's diversified international group companies, Group DF, concentrates on chemical industry and energy and real estate sectors.
2/14
In addition to Group DF, Firtash is co-owner of RosUkrEnergy, a Swiss-registered company that's 50% owned by Gazprom, and the other 50% of ownership can be connected to Firtash and Ivan Fursin.
3/14
In Apr, 2005, Oleksandr Turchynov, the head of Ukraine's SBU, stated that the Russian Mafia boss Semion Mogilevich is a silent partner in RosUkrEnergy and that the SBU had a huge file on Mogilevich's businesses during a 12 year time period.
4/14
A leaked cable revealed that Firtash had told the US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor that he needed permission from Mogilevich to do business in Ukraine during the '90s. It's also suspected that the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank was used as a front to legimitize RosUkrEnergo.5/14
In 2008, Firtash, together with Paul Manafort, was transforming the Drake Hotel in NYC into a spa and luxury mall named Bulgari Tower. The project was worth 895 million USD of which Dmytro was supposed to provide 100 million USD, but the deal was never finalized.
6/14
Firtash financed pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych's campaign in the Ukrainian presidential election in 2010. Once elected, he urged Yanukovych to adopt different policies and learn from the events of the Orange Revolution.
7/14
In Jun, 2021, Ukraine imposed sanctions against Dmytro because apparently his titanium businesses aided the "military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation".
8/14
In Aug, 2021, the Zaporizhya Titanium-Magnesium Plant was returned from Firtash to state-ownership because the plant owner Firtash hadn't invested the required assets for its modernization.
9/14
In Mar, 2014, Austrian authorities arrested Firtash in Vienna, as the US law enforcement wanted to have him extradited to the US on bribery and racketeering charges. A week after his arrest, he was released on bail of 125 million USD, the largest in Austrian history.
10/14
Austrian Supreme Court cleared his first extradition request in 2019. He was also investigated for money laundering in Spain in 2017, but this case was dropped due to "insufficient documentation".
11/14
The US prosecutors filed lawsuits against Firtash in 2017, alleging that he was involved in bribery that supported the Russian Mafia bosses. Allegedly he also attempted to "find dirt" on former VP Joe Biden before the 2020 US presidential election.
12/14
As of 2016, Dmytro and his family - excluding his oldest daughter Ivanna - were all Russian citizens. Firtash acquired a nice villa on the Cote d'Azur of France through the Irish firm Morga Ltd. Dmytro Firtash is living under house arrest in Austria.
13/14
In Apr,2022,Dmytro denounced Putin, saying that "he is never going to come out victorious."Regarding his political stance and businesses,he stated that "I was never pro-Russian, but you have to understand that I am a businessman. And my goal is to earn money. That’s my job."14/14
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian politician and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Kiriyenko. He’s best known for running both domestic and foreign disinformation and propaganda operations for the Kremlin.
1/20
On paper, and in photos, Kiriyenko is just as boring as most of the Kremlin’s “political technologists”: between 2005-2016 he headed the Rosatom nuclear energy company, but later played a leading role in the governance of Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine.
2/20
What is a political technologist? In Russia, they’re spin doctors & propaganda architects who shape opinion, control narratives, and manage elections — often by faking opposition, staging events, and spreading disinfo to maintain Putin’s power and the illusion of democracy.
Let me show you how a Pakistani (or Indian, they're usually the same) AI slop farm/scam operates. The account @designbonsay is a prime example: a relatively attractive, AI-generated profile picture and a ChatGPT-style profile description are the first red flags.
1/5
The profile's posts are just generic engagement farming, usually using AI-generated photos of celebrities or relatively attractive women.
These posts are often emotionally loaded and ask the user to interact with them ("like and share if you agree!").
2/5
Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American lawyer and politician, Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee). He’s best-known for opposing the aid to Ukraine, undermining NATO by calling the US to withdraw from the alliance, and for fighting with a bunch of braindead dogs online.
1/21
Like many of the most vile vatniks out there, “Based Mike” is a lawyer by profession. He hails from the holy land of Mormons, Utah, where he faces little political competition, allowing him to make the most outrageous claims online without risking his Senate seat.
2/21
Before becoming a senator, Mike fought to let a nuclear waste company dump Italian radioactive waste in Utah, arguing it was fine if they just diluted it. The state said no, the public revolted, and the courts told poor Mikey to sit down.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American national security policy professional and the current under secretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby (@ElbridgeColby). He’s best-known for fighting with cartoon dogs online and for halting military aid to Ukraine.
1/21
Elbridge "Cheese" Colby earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Before entering government, he worked at top think tanks and in the intelligence community, focusing on nuclear policy and strategic planning.
2/21
Cheese quickly became a key voice for a “China First” strategy, arguing the US must prioritize military buildup in Asia over commitments in Europe or the Middle East. He sees (or saw, rather) Taiwan as the core test of US credibility.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’m going to talk about… Vatnik Soup! As some of you know, we also have a website where you can find every soup ever published. The site also has other useful resources, making it the most comprehensive resource on Russian disinformation & vatniks.
1/15
Unfortunately, Elon has flagged the website as malware, as he might not be very happy about the soups I wrote about him - so far, they have garnered over 60 million views on X/Twitter.
The “freedom of speech” spokesperson doesn’t seem too keen on free speech, after all.
2/15
The heart & soul of the website is of course the soups page. There you can find all 360+ soups, which can be sorted chronologically, by popularity, etc. You can also search for soups by title or even in the soup text: