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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, over 6.6 million refugees have left their homes behind. Most of them have settled in close countries such as Poland, Romania, and Moldova. Others have moved a bit further away to England, Germany, Finland amongst many other nations. On top of this, 7.7 million people have been displaced within the country. The war has left a huge toll on the Ukrainian elderly, children and women who make up the bulk of those that have fled since 24 February 2022.  Unfortunately, a side effect of the influx of people, has been a steady threat of human trafficking. These heinous criminals take advantage of the fact that these Ukrainian refugees depend on the kindness of people. First they offer them help and then ruin their lives.  Ukrainian refugees left Ukraine in droves on packed trains (Image: istockphoto.com) VOLUNTEERS IN DROVES In the first days of the war, there was a flood of volunteers. They were all inspired to help in some way to the Ukraine eff...

Russia has been involved in information warfare for decades. It is no surprise that the war in Ukraine happens online, as well as on the front line. Just before the start of the invasion, on 24 February 2022, a mysterious group appeared on Telegram called ''Cyber Front Z''. This was before the famous ''Z'' symbol became synonymous with Russian war crimes and genocide and compared to the German Third Reich symbolism. Cyber Front Z is the latest troll farm set up to propel the Russian propaganda train forward. Especially when it comes to spreading lies about Ukraine. It is based in St Petersburg, and allegedly run by Putin's chef, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Let’s explore what it's like in the newest troll army fighting for Kremlin's losing war. YEVGENIY PRIGOZHIN  We can’t start talking about Russian troll farms without mentioning one famous name, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin. This name may be familiar because Prigozhin is the money man behind the no...

The war in Ukraine, and the ongoing NATO debate in Finland and Sweden, have activated Russian trolls and propaganda bots. This is especially prevalent in social media. Many users have come across pictures, fake news, strange videos, and publications aimed to influence public opinion in this historic time.  Russia seeks to extend their sphere of influence by using troll factories, such as St Petersburg based "Cyber Front Z". They use methods such as botnets and human troll networks to spread propaganda and perform cyber attacks. They also target social media apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp or TikTok. This is usually called information warfare.  BOTS   You should be aware when surfing on social media and accessing your emails. These are the most common ways to receive propaganda.  Russia uses bots to spread its message and try to make it seem like many people are discussing the same issue. In fact, this is not true. The bots execute what the host computer instructs the...

Finland is the country of lakes, happiness and ice hockey. However, under the calm exterior, it is a country that hides many dark and terrible unsolved mysteries. One of the most famous of such cases is the Oven Murder, in which Hilkka Saarinen met her tragic death.  THE FAMILY Hilkka Hillevi Pylkkänen, born on 1st November 1927, has lived all her life in Kokemäki, Finland. She married Pentti Frans Olavi Saarinen, and they moved into the home inherited from Hilkka's grandparents. It was a big, wooden house that was roomy enough for the couple and their five children. Unfortunately, all the kids were taken away by child services due to the father's behaviour. They were placed in different foster homes.  Seppo and Seija Saarinen setting flowers on their mother's grave Pentti had a problem with alcohol. He had violent and aggressive tendencies. In particular, his aggression and jealous inclinations were targeted to his wife, Hilkka.  The kids reported that at some ...

The debate to join NATO in Finland has been ongoing for many years. However, the recent invasion of Ukraine has prompted renewed interest in joining the Alliance. While the government is taking the time to debate the pros and cons of becoming part of NATO, Russia has started an active information campaign to confuse and delay this decision.  Like we explored in the previous post, a video was posted recently showing Russian military equipment coming to the Finnish border.  In this post I will attempt to break down: what are some advantages and disadvantages of Finland joining NATO  the timetable this decision will be made on  what are some guidelines of NATO that Finland must fit and how they are doing now how it will impact Russia  what are some of that Russia has done and said so far to delay this decision  ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF FINLAND JOINING NATO  Finland has largely tried to stay neutral in the past 80 years since the Second Wor...

While Russian soldiers are dying on the battlefields of Ukraine in droves, the Kremlin is busy spreading their disinformation towards the West. One big target for the Russian Federation now is Finland. We have been pushed to consider NATO membership very strongly. More than half of the Finnish population now supports being part of the North Atlantic Treaty. However, this is something that puts fear in Putin's heart because it would mean that NATO is coming even closer to Russia's borders.  As a former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin knows the power of lies and manipulation quite well. This is one reason why Russia instigates a lot of disinformation campaigns as part of its propaganda warfare. By deliberately spreading false information, Russians try to cause mistrust, conflict and disorder amongst citizens. This is to make people easier to influence and to create friction and panic in the population.   President Vladimir Putin, Russian Federation  MISINFORMATION VS DISINFO...

The Russians have committed war crimes since the beginning of the invasion in Ukraine. Murders, mass executions, torture, looting and sexual assault of women and children are just some of the heinous activities that the invaders have inflicted upon the Ukrainian civilians.  In this post, we look at how war crimes can be defined according to the international law of armed conflict and look at some evidence of these in Ukraine. WHAT IS A WAR CRIME? A '' code of conduct' ' for defining behaviour in a war zone can be traced back for centuries. However, the current laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law were created around the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Over the years, it has evolved to the Hague Conventions adopted in 1899 and 1907. These focus on the methods of warfare that can be used and what warring parties are allowed and prohibited to do. A few other treaties have been developed since then. A woman and child evacua...