In today's #vatniksoup, I'll talk about peace negotiations. There's a common misconception that only Russia wants peace and Ukraine wants to keep on fighting "until the last man", but of course this is far from the truth.
1/18
There's been peace talks pretty during the whole duration of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The first meeting was held in Belarus, just four days after the start of the invasion, on 28 Feb 2022. In March, there were four more rounds of negotiations in Belarus and in Turkey.
2/18
In 5 Mar 2022,Israel's Naftali Bennett was mediating the negotiations between Ukraine & Russia. They were also coordinated by the US, France & Germany. Bennett said that both sides wanted a cease fire, and that it was the Western powers that stopped this deal from happening.
3/18
If you look at the map from that time, it is easy to see why Russia would've wanted a break from fighting - they were controlling eastern, northern and southern parts of Ukraine, their 3-day plan to take Kyiv had failed and their convoy to Kyiv was stalled.
4/18
Kyiv must have been worried about the convoy reaching the capital, and they probably also wanted to stop Russia from invading more regions in Ukraine. Bennett later tweeted that he had his doubts about the deal, and said the odds for it holding were roughly 50-50.
5/18
From the beginning, many politicians stated that Russia wouldn't hold their end of the deal, and for example French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that Russia was only "pretending to negotiate", a strategy they had used many times before.
6/18
On 9 Apr 2022, Boris Johnson visited Zelenskyy and told him that "Putin is a war criminal, he should be pressured, not negotiated with." Now this statement is often used as an evidence that the West sabotaged the peace negotiations, but it's worth mentioning that...
7/18
...this statement was made right after the atrocities in Bucha were revealed. Also, Lavrov later stated that the peace deal was no longer an option, stating that even the Donbas was not enough for Russia and that the "geography had changed."
8/18
During the early days of the invasion, Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak even proposed Putin a deal where Ukraine would not join NATO if Russia called off their invasion. Putin refused, as he wanted to annex more Ukrainian territories and absorb them into Russia.
9/18
Now, so-called "peaceniks" often like to talk about how the West and/or Ukraine are unwilling to "stop the killing" and negotiate with Russia. But what they fail to realize, is that Russia hasn't been willing to negotiate for peace, and when they are, they're planning to...
10/18
...re-group and mobilize more troops to continue their barbaric invasion. In Jun 2023, the Kremlin-controlled RIA Novosti published an op-ed by Viktoriia Nikiforova on Russian "empire building" and how it takes time.
11/18
According to Nikiforova, "it took Russia several decades and several peace treaties in the 17th century before it managed to annex Kyiv." Do read Oleksandr Polianichev's fantastic thread on this:
As I mentioned, Russia was never ready to negotiate for truce or peace. Some examples: In Dec 2022, Dmitry Peskov said that any peace plan can only proceed if Ukraine recognizes Russia's sovereignty over the regions it annexed from Ukraine.
13/18
In Jan 2023,he said that "there is currently no prospect for diplomatic means of settling the situation around Ukraine." In Mar 2023 he said that "We have to achieve our goals. Right now this is only possible by military means due to the current position of the Kyiv regime."14/18
Incidentally, around this time there was a relatively large, allegedly Kremlin-sponsored "peace movement" and creation of the "antiwar" sentiment in the West, accompanied by large rallies in the US and in Germany:
In Jun 2023, Putin refused peace plan offered by African nations. In Jul 2023, Putin refused any peace negotiations "while Ukraine is on the offensive."
Of course, even if there was a truce, there would be no guarantees of ending the hostilities. After agreeing on...
16/18
...humanitarian corridors from Mariupol, Russian troops opened fire on civilians. After signing an agreement on grain exports, Russia fired missiles at the port in Odesa.
17/18
Here you see Boris Yeltsin and Aslan Maskhadov ceremoniously signing a peace treaty between Russia and Chechnya in 1996. Three years later, Putin's Russia invaded Chechnya and completely obliterated its capital, Grozny. You really shouldn't trust Russia.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll cover the agenda-setting and flood of disinformation that spread on X and other platforms right after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. It’s far from the first or last time a tragedy has been weaponized for political purposes.
1/18
Every major political event, especially those involving violence, attracts massive attention. In the immediate aftermath, reliable information is scarce, making it highly vulnerable to both coordinated and improvised disinformation campaigns.
2/18
As I’ve mentioned in my previous soups and lectures, in disinformation campaigns, being first with a narrative is crucial, as people often remember the first version best — psychology studies show it sets the mental schema, and later updates rarely overwrite it.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce American social media personality David Freeman, AKA Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman). He’s best known for spreading political disinformation on X and shamelessly sucking up to Trump, Putin, and other authoritarian leaders.
1/22
David is a textbook example of someone profiting from MAGA grievance politics. He uses extreme, provocative language to farm engagement on X and never hesitates to flatter anyone who might give him more exposure — or money.
2/22
But David wasn’t always like this. At some point, in his mid-40s, he even tried a real job: he trained to become a cop. He spent three years with the Metro Transit PD, but after that he either got fired or quit, and never looked back.
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.