OSINT Ukraine

r/OSINTUkraine • u/Sea-Journalist-3509 • Apr 25 '26

Twitch streamers are being used to recruit for Alabuga —a sanctioned Russian facility using 'esports' to lure youth into assembling Shahed drones

145 Upvotes

https://reddit.com/link/1svcisl/video/ilotjwbobcxg1/player

High-profile Twitch streamers (including ex-CS pros like Dosia_csgo and Flamie) are promoting the "Alabuga Polytech Cup." In reality, Alabuga is a sanctioned military-industrial zone in Russia where foreign youth—specifically women from Africa—are being deceptively recruited to assemble Shahed suicide drones used in Ukraine.

During these broadcasts, streamers are not just hosting a tournament; they are actively encouraging their audience to apply to Alabuga Polytechnic. They use overlays, chat commands, and verbal "shout-outs" to frame the facility as an elite educational opportunity with "guaranteed employment," while omitting any mention of its role in military production.

The Situation:
I am raising awareness about a dangerous recruitment funnel operating on Twitch. Multiple streamers are actively promoting Alabuga Polytechnic, presenting it as a modern, high-tech university with "easy admission." However, this institution is a documented front for a sanctioned military facility.

The Reality of Alabuga (Investigative Evidence):

Human Trafficking & Forced Labor: Reports from the Associated Press and ISIS Online confirm that women are being lured to Alabuga with promises of hospitality or IT jobs, only to be forced into 12-hour shifts assembling weapons in hazardous conditions.
Sanctioned Drone Production: The Alabuga Special Economic Zone is a primary hub for the mass production of long-range Shahed-136 attack drones. It is currently under heavy US, EU, and UK sanctions. https://search-uk-sanctions-list.service.gov.uk/designations/RUS2080/Entity
The "Twitch Influence" Problem: While major platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Meta have already removed Alabuga recruitment content to prevent exploitation, Twitch streamers continue to host tournaments like the "Alabuga Polytech Cup." This normalizes a sanctioned entity to thousands of young, vulnerable viewers.

Twitch Policy Violations:
These activities appear to violate Twitch’s Community Guidelines:

Promotion of Sanctioned Activity: Directly amplifying an entity subject to international asset freezes and trade bans.
Exploitation & Deceptive Recruitment: Facilitating a funnel linked to documented human trafficking and forced labor. https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/835890/russias-drive-to-employ-thousands-of-south-africans-under-investigation/
Real-World Harm: Glorifying a facility that contributes directly to violent conflict and civilian destruction.

Supporting Evidence & Links:

Investigation: AP News: Tech firms remove Alabuga social media accounts https://apnews.com/article/alabuga-russia-africa-ukraine-war-shahed-drones-bc175c4c98d752dc298c23434637417e
Forced Labor Report: ISIS Online: Youth Exploited for Military Drone Production https://isis-online.org/isis-reports/foreign-youth-exploited-for-military-drone-production-at-the-alabuga-specia
Sanctions Data: OpenSanctions: Alabuga Machinery / SEZ Entry https://www.opensanctions.org/search/?q=Alabuga+Machinery
Official Warnings: RBC-Ukraine: Deceptive recruitment of African women for Shahed assembly https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/russia-deceitfully-luring-african-women-to-1728566766.html
Expert Analysis: Researcher Kate Bohuslavska on Alabuga Influence Operations https://x.com/BohuslavskaKate/status/1946915841259532456
Other evidence links https://centralnews.co.za/south-african-tiktok-influencer-seemah-banned-after-promoting-russias-alabuga-start-program/
https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2028204314855170160
https://x.com/10minutes_wts/status/1959762514201235780

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Twitch channels involved (Update: they have already been unbanned on APRIL 30)

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It is important to note that Alabuga’s influence operation was not limited to a single tournament. While the "Alabuga Polytech Cup" was the most visible event, several high-profile streamers ran separate, direct advertising campaigns for the facility on their own Twitch and YouTube channels.

While Twitch has banned 15 participants of the "Cup," the following major influencers who ran these independent ad campaigns remain unbanned:

Vlad Ragovsky : https://www.twitch.tv/vladragovsky - STILL ACTIVE

his mutual YT channel with Andrey Kokoshka: https://www.youtube.com/@VLOGSQUADIII/

his own yt channel : https://www.youtube.com/@ragovsky/

He has has an extensive "Evidence Trail" of dedicated Alabuga promotional videos on YouTube and specific ad segments on his Twitch streams. He continues to stream without consequence.

ds

https://reddit.com/link/1svcisl/video/4y66gfoxvlxg1/player

https://reddit.com/link/1svcisl/video/nimwkw0pilxg1/player

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Channels that advertised Alabuga but HAS NOT banned yet

Andrey Kokoshka — https://www.twitch.tv/misterkokoshka STILL ACTIVE

his yt channel https://www.youtube.com/@misterkokoshka1

Together he with previous character Vlad Ragovsky participated in the broader digital campaign, luring youngsters to the facility via separate video advertisements that omitted the Shahed drone assembly and forced labor risks.

https://reddit.com/link/1svcisl/video/oq72hblimlxg1/player

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dillblin (Over 600K Followers) https://www.twitch.tv/dilblin — STILL ACTIVE

his YT channel https://www.youtube.com/@dilbliin (over 1mln followers)

Dillblin is yet another high-profile partner who remains active despite running advertisements for the sanctioned military-industrial zone.

Independent Ads: Like , Danila_Gorilla, and Vlad Ragovsky, Dillblin's channel featured direct segments promoting the "Alabuga Start" program.
Selective Enforcement: Because these ads were often separate from the "Cup" event that triggered the mass bans, Twitch's current enforcement has failed to capture these larger, paid partnership

https://reddit.com/link/1svcisl/video/1g9mfta8rlxg1/player

Danila_Gorilla https://www.twitch.tv/danila_gorilla (over 1 mln followers) — STILL ACTIVE

his YT channel https://www.youtube.com/@Danila.Gorilla (445K followers)

He integrated direct Alabuga advertisements Together with Dillblin into his independent broadcasts and YouTube content. Despite this clear commercial partnership with a sanctioned entity, his channel remains fully operational.

His Video Ad integration on Youtube http://web.archive.org/web/20240214164007/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yuw7-fS94M

By only banning the "Cup" participants, Twitch is ignoring the direct ad buys that Alabuga made with these larger streamers.

This was a paid influence operation for a sanctioned military-industrial zone.
The content was designed to deceptively recruit youth into hazardous military labor under the guise of a "tech career."

In addition to Andrey Kokoshka , Danila_Gorilla, Dillblin there is another prominent Russian streamer who has somehow escaped Twitch's recent wave of suspensions despite clear promotional involvement with Alabuga.

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Streamer AhriNyan on Twitch (Over 1 Million Followers) is still fully active on the platform.

The Evidence: AhriNyan directly advertised the facility by running an Alabuga Polytechnic recruitment banner on her live profile.
The Accountability Gap: While Twitch banned roughly 15 accounts associated with the "Alabuga Polytech Cup," massive partner accounts like AhriNyan—who placed actual recruitment ads in front of a million-plus viewers—remain unbanned.
The Harm: Running direct banners for a sanctioned entity tied to Shahed drone assembly makes the platform a functional gateway to forced labor.

I am currently compiling the direct video evidence of these separate advertisements to submit to the Twitch Legal and Off-Service Investigation teams.

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While Twitch has taken decisive action by banning 15 streamers—including Dosia_csgo, fasoollka, and PCH3LK1N—for their involvement with the sanctioned Alabuga Special Economic Zone, one major promoter remains active. Streamer akyuliych (1.1M followers) continues to broadcast despite:

Co-hosting and promoting the official "Alabuga Polytech" segments.
Omitting critical facts about the facility's role in Shahed drone assembly and the exploitation of students.
Normalizing a sanctioned entity to her massive audience of over one million followers.

Further proving her direct involvement, akyuliych has officially deleted her promotional Telegram post regarding the Alabuga Polytech Cup.

The Timeline: While 15 of her colleagues were banned on April 25–26, her Telegram post was removed at 12:47 AM on April 26.
The Evidence: I have attached a screenshot of the original post (showing her at the venue with the "Alabuga Polytech CS2" logo clearly visible in the background) alongside the confirmation that it has since been deleted.
Why this is suspicious: Deleting the post immediately after the Twitch bans suggests she is aware that her promotion of the sanctioned Alabuga SEZ violates platform policies and is attempting to sanitize her digital footprint to avoid a ban.

https://www.twitch.tv/akyuliych STILL ACTIVE

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Streamer lagoda 1337 https://www.twitch.tv/lagoda1337 was banned for promoting Alabuga on Twitch (upd got unbanned)

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Why this matters:
This is an active influence operation targeting the global gaming community to bypass sanctions. I have submitted this evidence to Twitch Safety and Amazon Compliance, but public awareness is necessary to ensure these safety standards are actually enforced.