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 Wumao Soup, I’ll introduce how and where the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) online propaganda and influence operations work. Due to China’s massive population and advances in AI, CCP-aligned online content has become increasingly visible.
1/20
Like Russia’s troll farms, China has its own troll army: the “50 Cent Party” or “Wumao” refers to state-linked online commentators who are reportedly paid ¥0.50 per post to steer discussions away from criticism and amplify CCP narratives on social media.
2/20
Back in 2017, a research paper estimated that the Wumao produced almost 500 million fabricated comments annually to distract readers and shift topics. In that sense, Wumao operates very similarly to the Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” model:
In today’s Vatnik Soup and the “Degenerate Russia” series, I’ll show you the brutal reality of Russian war crimes, in particular the horrific tortures and sexual abuses of children, women and men.
Buckle up, this one is not for the faint-hearted.
1/24
For over a decade now and as part of their “firehose of falsehood” propaganda strategy, Russia has been spreading false narratives targeted at right-wing/conservative audiences, portraying russia as a bastion of Christian, traditional,family values.
In the previous “degenerate Russia” series we discussed Russia’s insanely high divorce rates, rampant domestic violence, high murder rates, thriving neo-Nazi culture, corruption of the Orthodox Church, and their massive demographic problem:
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll explore how Russia is working with Iran, and how the recent Israel–US strikes on Iran could affect the war in Ukraine. Iran has been one of Russia’s key allies in their genocidal war, but in reality the partnership is deeply one-sided.
1/21
Historically, Russia/USSR has been involved in numerous wars in the Middle East, invading Afghanistan for nearly a decade and desperately trying to keep Syria’s authoritarian leader, al-Assad, in power before his eventual downfall.
2/21
While initially supportive of Israel, the Soviet Union quickly pivoted to backing its enemies, fueling antisemitism, terrorism, and chaos in an already tense region. At times, this meant near-open war, like when Soviet Air Force MiG-21s were shot down by Israel over Egypt.
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll re-introduce a Latvian politician and former MEP, Tatjana Ždanoka. She’s best-known for her history in the Communist Party of Latvia, for her pro-Russian politics in the country, and her connections to Russian intelligence.
1/22
Based on Ždanoka’s speeches and social media posts, she has a deep hatred towards the people of Latvia. The reason for this can only be speculated, but part of it could be due to her paternal family being killed by the Latvian Auxiliary Police,…
2/22
…a paramilitary force supported by the Nazis, during the early 1940s. Ždanoka became politically active in the late 80s. She was one of the leaders of Interfront, a political party that supported Latvia remaining part of the USSR.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce the main themes of Russian disinformation on TikTok. Each day, there are thousands of new videos promoting pro-Kremlin narratives and propaganda.
It’s worth noting that Russians can only access European TikTok via VPN.
1/10
There is currently a massive TikTok campaign aimed at promoting a positive image of Russia. The videos typically feature relatively attractive young women and focus on themes of nationalism and cultural heritage.
2/10
Ironically, many of these videos from Moscow or St. Petersburg are deceptively edited to portray Ukraine in a false light — claiming there is no war and that international aid is being funneled to corrupt elites.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about Finland and how pro-Kremlin propagandists have become more active in the Finnish political space since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For the first time since 2022, they’ve gained some political power in Finland.
1/16
Russia’s political strategy in countries with Russian-speaking minorities (such as Finland and the Baltics) is typically quite similar: it seeks to rally these minorities around issues like language and minority rights, and then frames the situation as oppression.
2/16
At the same time, Russian speakers are extremely wary and skeptical of local media, and instead tend to follow Russian domestic outlets like Russia-1 and NTV, thereby reinforcing an almost impenetrable information bubble.