In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll discuss the Kremlin’s toolbox at sea. Recently, we have seen several sabotage operations allegedly conducted by Russia & its allies, especially in the Baltic Sea region. Since 2023, there have been several underwater cables cut by ships’ anchors.
1/18
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,the Baltic Sea has become a hotspot for NATO-Russia rivalry. This rivalry ramped up in Sep 2022,when the Nord Stream gas pipelines were sabotaged by an unknown perpetrator (some blame a “pro-Ukraine group”, others, the Russians).
2/18
These sabotage operations in the Baltic Sea now target critical infrastructure like Internet and energy cables, links that are vital for European communication and trade. Russia and its allies allegedly use these acts to test NATO’s resilience and response.
3/18
The Kremlin’s hybrid operations are smart in a way that they almost never cross the red lines for an actual NATO intervention. Cutting a few cables “by accident” hardly calls for an invoking of the famous Article 5, which is why they (allegedly) keep doing these operations.
4/18
Sabotaging underwater cables is mainly a strategic tool. It undermines regional unity and escalates tensions, sometimes even between NATO allies. Examples abound, including anchor damage to pipelines like Balticconnector, severed in October 2023 by a Hong Kong-flagged ship.
5/18
Investigations into the Balticconnector suggest deliberate anchor dragging. While China called it an “accident,” suspicions remain. But truthfully, no one will probably be held accountable. In November 2024, a Chinese vessel allegedly severed the C-Lion 1 cable…
6/18
…near Denmark and Sweden. In December 2024, another incident targeted Estlink 2, a power line between Finland and Estonia. The Eagle S vessel, linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, allegedly dragged its anchor to cut the line. Finland quickly seized the ship and its cargo.
7/18
“Shadow fleet” refers to a fleet of ships with intricate ownership and management structures, employing a variety of deceptive or even illegal techniques to conceal the origins of their cargo. Russia is estimated to have up to 1400 of these vessels used to avoid sanctions.
8/18
These acts may aim to provoke an energy crisis in NATO’s Baltic allies. Tensions spiked after the Baltic nations decided to leave the Soviet-era power grid known as BRELL, cutting energy ties with Russia and Belarus.
9/18
How do we know that these operations were most probably planned in the Kremlin? The Kremlin war hawk Nikolai Patrushev had issued a “warning” over “the US and the UK intending to sabotage underwater Internet cables and planning to destabilize the maritime energy trade”…
10/18
…just before the incident with Yi Peng 3. Again, the old “Peskov Rule” applies - when Russia blames others for doing something, they’re probably doing it themselves.
Addressing these threats is extremely challenging.
11/18
Also, Russia has been for a while trying to minimize the effect of cutting these communication cables: for quite some time, they’ve been testing out their own “sovereign Internet” closed from the outside world:
Underwater cables are hard to monitor, and attributing sabotage is even harder. Detection requires tech like drones & sensors, but evidence often remains scarce. Besides, these vessels often sail under flags like the Cook Islands, with the crew coming from countries…
13/18
…like India and Georgia, so who’s to blame? Also, repairing these damaged cables is slow and costly, involving specialized ships and equipment. These operations are easy to conduct but hard to detect, meaning we’ll likely see more in the future.
14/18
In Jan 2025, @washingtonpost published a strange article claiming that all these cable disruptions were actually “accidents” and not Russian sabotage.
I think it’s incredible that we barely saw any before 2023, and now it’s happening almost on a monthly basis!
15/18
The article was also heavily criticized by the master OSINT account @auonsson. I would strongly suggest everyone interested in the topic reading their analysis here:
Underwater cables have been mysteriously damaged also in Taiwan. The Taiwanese Coast Guard are suspecting that Shunxin39 – a Chinese-linked cargo vessel – could be responsible for cutting the cables.
17/18
Taiwanese investigators (and later @newsweek) discovered that a Chinese university recently patented a system for cutting underwater cables efficiently. With such tools available, the sabotaging of underwater cables is likely to remain a persistent threat
18/18
You can now pre-order the 2nd edition of my book! This updated version, featuring pre-order extras, will be released at the end of February 2025.
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.
Let me show you how a Pakistani (or Indian, they're usually the same) AI slop farm/scam operates. The account @designbonsay is a prime example: a relatively attractive, AI-generated profile picture and a ChatGPT-style profile description are the first red flags.
1/5
The profile's posts are just generic engagement farming, usually using AI-generated photos of celebrities or relatively attractive women.
These posts are often emotionally loaded and ask the user to interact with them ("like and share if you agree!").
2/5
Then there's the monetization part. This particular account sells "pencil art", which again are just AI-generated slop.
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an American lawyer and politician, Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee). He’s best-known for opposing the aid to Ukraine, undermining NATO by calling the US to withdraw from the alliance, and for fighting with a bunch of braindead dogs online.
1/21
Like many of the most vile vatniks out there, “Based Mike” is a lawyer by profession. He hails from the holy land of Mormons, Utah, where he faces little political competition, allowing him to make the most outrageous claims online without risking his Senate seat.
2/21
Before becoming a senator, Mike fought to let a nuclear waste company dump Italian radioactive waste in Utah, arguing it was fine if they just diluted it. The state said no, the public revolted, and the courts told poor Mikey to sit down.