In today's #vatniksoup I'll introduce the head of the Catholic Church and the bishop of Rome, Jorge Mario Bergoglio AKA Pope Francis (@pontifex). He's best-known for praising Russian imperialism and for failing to condemn Russia for their genocidal war in Ukraine.
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As most of you know, Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and thus holds significant religious and political power and influence. For example, in the 21st century, Pope Francis played a key role in in brokering the 2015 improvement in relations between the US and Cuba.
2/18
Francis has also advocated for the decriminalization of homosexuality worldwide and has also been sympathetic toward the LGBT community. Additionally he has called for action against climate change.
3/18
In light of this, it seems strange how Pope Francis has acted after Russia launched their full-scale invasion in Ukraine. To be fair, Francis visited the embassy of Russia in Rome to condemn the attack, and additionally called President Zelenskyy. But soon after this...
4/18
..the weirdness began. In Mar 2023, just one day after more than 80 missiles and drones were launched at Ukrainian cities, bringing death and destruction, he stated the war was fueled by "several imperial interests".
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In May 2022, he suggested that Russia's invasion was "somehow either provoked," continuing that he's "simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good guys and bad guys". He also claimed that NATO was "barking at the gates of Russia".
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In Aug 2022, Francis described the killing of Alexander Dugin's daughter, Darya Dugina, as "a case of innocents paying for the Russo-Ukrainian War". Ukraine criticized this, stating that Dugina was "one of ideologists of (Russian) imperialism" and not an innocent victim.
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In Nov 2022, Francis gave an interview to Christian magazine called America. When asked about his "seeming unwillingness to directly criticize Russia," and why he was "preferring instead to speak more generally of the need for an end to war, an end to mercenary activity...
8/18
...rather than Russian attacks," he stated that "Generally, the cruelest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryati and so on."
9/18
These utterly racist remarks reduced the Kremlin's responsibility on the atrocities in Ukraine, maybe somehow suggesting that the soldiers from the big cities don't commit any war crimes. He's also pondered whether it's "right for Western powers to arm Ukraine."
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In Aug 2023, the Pope sent a video greeting to the All-Russian Meeting of Catholic Youth in St Petersburg. During the speech, he addressed the youth by saying that "You are the descendants of great Russia: the great Russia of Saints, rulers, the great Russia of Peter I,...
11/18
..Catherine II, that empire – educated, great culture and great humanity." These legacies have often been used by Putin as a justification for his brutal war in Ukraine, and it's yet another tone-deaf statement from Francis regarding the war in Ukraine.
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Francis' efforts to bring Russia closer to the Vatican began already in Feb 2016, when he met with Russia's Patriarch Kirill in Havana, Cuba. This was the first time leaders of the Catholic Church and the Moscow Patriarchate met, ...
13/18
... and it was a big propaganda win for both Kirill and the Kremlin. At this time, Russia was already waging war in both Syria and in Ukraine, and some considered this meeting to "indirectly give a boost to Mr. Putin," and his imperialistic war efforts.
14/18
It is of course common knowledge that Patriarch Kirill AKA Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev is not the holiest of men. In fact he used to be part of the KGB. Also, his fortune is estimated to be around 4 billion USD, and he owns a lavish palace in Gelendzhik.
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Most of Kirill's wealth came through corruption, when his church was given a privilege for duty-free importation of cigarettes during the 90s.
To be fair, Francis has also strongly condemned the war on many occasions. He's warned pro-war Kirill to not become "Putin's altar boy", he's stated that Ukraine has "a lawful right to defend itself." But these statements became irrelevant after the Pope praised Russia's..
17/18
...imperialistic past, blames the poor and uneducated for the cruelties in Ukraine, and states that the war in Ukraine may have been provoked by NATO. In the end, the former are quickly forgotten, whereas the latter are used as propaganda for years to come.
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.