In today's #vatniksoup I'll be introducing a new series, "Bakhmut porridge",where I talk about life in the front lines. My source for all this is veteran fighter, Sisu,who has been fighting for Ukraine since Mar, 2022. I've received solid proof for his identity and location.
1/14
For security reasons I will be using only AI-generated images. We might use real images on later editions.
Our discussion started by me just asking questions from Sisu and him answering, if he could. One of my first questions was naturally: "Why did you want to volunteer?"
2/14
Sisu's family tree is full of professional soldiers and once the call came, he didn't hesitate at all. Besides, this is not his first gig and he states that if he survives, it won't be his last, either.
3/14
90% of the gear he's using he's had for years - basically he's been preparing for war since 2015. He's received an automatic rifle and some technical gear from his unit, but everything else he's bought by himself.
4/14
Sisu comes from Finland, so handling the cold has been much easier for him than for other foreign volunteers. When asked about Ukrainian winter, he simply replied: "What winter?" He rarely has gigs that last over 48 hours, so he usually gets to sleep inside.
5/14
For those longer stints, he has a sleeping bag and a hypothermia bag. For the rainy and muddy seasons, he wears gore-tex and pairs of extra socks - a luxury that most people who are fighting in the front do not have.
6/14
Most of the time Sisu spends training and planning out upcoming operations. In his spare time, he tends to himself, takes care of his equipment and sleeps. Operations themselves take relatively little time.
7/14
When asked about challenges, he states that the two most difficult things are 1) finding a good unit that cooperates well together, and 2) handling unprofessionalism and "jack-assery". War is hell and people deal with it differently: some turn off their emotions, others...
8/14
...resort to alcohol. Sisu tells me a story of 3 soldiers being drunk at watch while the enemy was as close as 20 meters from them.
He says that people come to Ukraine with high hopes of heroism, but most of them leave after first enemy contact.
9/14
The rose-stinted glasses come off quickly once people see war as it is. In regard to combat situations, Sisu claims that he becomes cold, emotionless, a rational machine: "In this war, there's endless amount of disappointments to anyone who tries to be optimistic".
10/14
He's stationed in Bakhmut, which he describes as "a town completely destroyed by shelling, missiles, tanks, rockets and grenades". "There's nothing but ruins, burning cars, destroyed tanks and APC's.
11/14
People with thousand-yard stares, pondering why they are still fighting for this unimportant town", he continues.
But for the locals, there are only two options: victory or death. Sisu tells me a story about how they were walking down a road with his unit while indirect.. 12/14
...artillery was constantly exploding around them, when an old lady came along, casually carrying a water bucket. This was about three weeks ago.
He also says that even though the "hotspots" are naturally the most dangerous, there is no safe place anywhere in the front.
13/14
"Nobody should experience war. There are only losers in war, the only difference is what and how much you lose", he concludes.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss the Wagner Group, its founders Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, and the mutiny they started on 23 Jun 2023. The event marked the climax of the Wagner Group–Russian MoD conflict, and finally led to the deaths of Prigozhin and Utkin.
1/22
Wagner has been used in many conflicts around the world, but they came to global prominence during the war in Donbas in 2014-2015. Wagnerites helped the Donbas separatists fight against the Ukrainians during the conflict, which helped Putin to “outsource” the insurrection.
2/22
The group doesn’t have any central ideology, but many of its members and leaders have ties to various neo—Nazi movements in Russia. For example, Wagner leader Dmitry Utkin had several Nazi symbols tattooed on his body. Neo—nazi group Rusich has also fights as part of Wagner.
3/22
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce an Amsterdam-based propaganda channel, Bonanza Media (@bonanzamedia2). It’s best-known for producing & spreading online pro-Kremlin propaganda videos while closely coordinating & collaborating with the Russian intelligence agency GRU.
1/19
Russian intelligence has been extremely active in the Netherlands for a long time. For example in 2018, four GRU agents were caught while trying to hack into OPCW,an organization that monitors the use of chemical weapons. In addition, the International Criminal Court (ICC)…
2/19
…and the MH17 investigation have become targets for the Russian intelligence and propaganda operations. These operations are often complemented with “investigative journalism” media outlets, that often echo the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation.
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll talk about the recent EU elections and what are their implications for both the Kremlin and Ukraine. Right-wing political parties, some pro-Kremlin, won a lot of seats around Europe, and this result can also change the EU’s stance on Ukraine.
1/19
But before we start, I want to promote a truck fundraiser I'm doing together with the fantastic @ArturRehi and @69thSB.
Our goal is 20 000 USD, and you can contribute to this important fundraiser here:
EU’s support of Ukraine is essential for their survival against genocidal Russia. So far,this support has been delayed mostly by Orban’s Hungary (& to some degree, Fico’s Slovakia). Now, this support will probably be challenged by many new members of the European Parliament.
3/19
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss a specific propaganda/disinformation that the Kremlin likes to use – antisemitism. I also talk about how the Russian society itself has become riddled with antisemitism & how this has led to a decrease in Jewish population in the country.
1/19
Russian antisemitism works on many levels, and their narratives vary depending whether they’re targeting a local audience or people in Europe and the US. For example for the latter, Russia attempts to create a false narrative of Ukraine being an antisemitic “Nazi state”.
2/19
But before diving deeper, let’s look at a survey data of Russians in 2023: Nearly 30 million Russians harbour antisemitic attitudes, and 15% of those surveyed believed that “Jews were responsible for most of the world’s wars.” 38% think that the Jews have...
In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll introduce a Ukrainian media personality and propagandist, Diana Panchenko (@Panchenko_X). She’s best-known for betraying her own country by peddling anti-Zelenskyy and anti-Ukraine propaganda and disinformation for the Kremlin.
1/22
Panchenko was born in 1988 in the Mykolaev Oblast in Ukrainian SSR in 1988. She studied publishing and editing at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and later graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in law.
2/22
After graduating, Diana worked briefly for the news site . Between 2010 and 2015, Panchenko was a presenter for KyivTV, but she found her true calling as a pro-Kremlin propagandist after she was hired by a national “news channel” called NewsOne.