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 Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian-Estonian businessman, Oleg Ossinovski. He is best-known for his deep ties to Russian rail and energy networks, shady cross-border dealings, and for channeling his wealth into Estonian politics.
1/14
Oleg made his fortune via Spacecom Trans & Skinest Rail, both deeply tied to Russia’s rail system. Most of this is through Globaltrans Investments PLC, a Cyprus-based firm with 62% held via Spacecom and tens of millions in yearly profits.
2/14
Ossinovski’s Russian-linked ventures made him Estonia’s richest man in 2014, with an estimated fortune of ~€300M. His business empire stretched across railways, oil via Alexela shares, and Russian bitumen imports from Help-Oil, a supplier to the Defense Ministry.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Swiss/French writer, Alain Bonnet, aka Alain Soral (@officielsoral). He’s best known for his rabid antisemitism and for his pathetic support for all the worst authoritarian regimes from Russia to North Korea.
1/22
Alain’s childhood was problematic, as his father has been characterized as a “narcissistic pervert” who beat his children and did jail time for fraud. Alain himself has said he was “programmed to be a monster.” Born Alain Bonnet, he took the stage name of his sister,…
2/22
… actress Agnès Soral. She wasn’t too happy about this, commenting “How would you like to be called Agnès Hitler?”. Like many grifters, he became a pick-up/seduction artist writer, à la late Gonzalo Lira, writing books and even making a B-movie, “Confessions d’un dragueur”.
3/22
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explain the Alaska Fiasco and how it marks the peak of Trump’s two-year betrayal of Ukraine. What was sold as “peace talks” turned into a spectacle of weakness, humiliation, empty promises, and photo-ops that handed Putin exactly what he wanted.
1/24
Let’s start with the obvious: Trump desperately wants the gold medal of the Nobel Peace Prize, mainly because Obama got one. That’s why he’s now LARPing as a “peace maker” in every conflict: Israel-Gaza, Azerbaijan-Armenia, India-Pakistan, and of course Ukraine-Russia.
2/24
Another theory is that Putin holds kompromat — compromising material such as videos or documents — that would put Trump in an extremely bad light. Some have suggested it could be tied to the Epstein files or Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about engagement farming: a cynical social media tactic to rack up likes, shares, and comments. From rage farming to AI-powered outrage factories, engagement farming is reshaping online discourse and turning division into profit.
1/23
Engagement farming is a social media tactic aimed at getting maximum likes, shares, and comments, with truth being optional. It thrives on provocative texts, images, or videos designed to spark strong reactions, boost reach, and turn online outrage into clicks and cash.
2/23
One subset of engagement farming is rage farming: a tactic built to provoke strong negative emotions through outrageous or inflammatory claims. By triggering anger or moral outrage, these posts often generate 100s or even 1,000s of heated comments, amplifying their reach.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the autocratic concept of “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars”: the idea that the leader is wise and just, but constantly sabotaged by corrupt advisors. This narrative shields the ruler from blame, and it’s used by both Putin and Trump today.
1/20
The phrase “Good Tsar, Bad Boyars” (Царь хороший, бояре плохие), also known as Naïve Monarchism, refers to a long-standing idea in Russian political culture: the ruler is good and benevolent, but his advisors are corrupt, incompetent and responsible for all failures.
2/20
From this perception, any positive action taken by the government is viewed as being an accomplishment of the benevolent leader, whereas any negative one is viewed as being caused by lower-level bureaucrats or “boyars”, without the approval of the leader.
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.