Sofia Stuzhuk is a Ukrainian influencer and blogger with an audience of over 5 million followers on Instagram. She was born on , in Kharkiv, and lived most of her life in Sevastopol. After the occupation of the Crimean peninsula, she moved to Kyiv. She owns several commercial businesses in Ukraine and Russia.
In June 2024, she was entered into the database of the Myrotvorets website for participating in acts of humanitarian aggression against Ukraine and disseminating Russian propaganda.
Position of Sofia Stuzhuk on the war in Ukraine
First statements following the invasion
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukrainian territory, in the early days of the war Stuzhuk published a series of Instagram Stories covering events unfolding in Ukraine, describing her emotional state and pleading for peace. It cannot be said that she adopted the stance of complete silence she is often accused of. Nevertheless, her audience expected much more direct and explicit statements from Sofia.
Subsequently, Sofia did not post for four days due to her relocation to Latvia. Ukrainian bloggers and followers wrote to Stuzhuk urging her to address her massive Russian audience with appeals to stop the war.
On February 28, Stuzhuk stated on her Telegram channel that several of her Instagram pages had been blocked, and her primary page became inaccessible to Ukrainians due to mass reports, false allegations, and conspiracies by domestic Ukrainian bloggers.
On Telegram, the blogger continued to post about missile strikes on Ukrainian cities as well as useful logistical information for Ukrainian refugees.
On March 20, 2022, Stuzhuk explained her moderate position regarding the war:
I have always said that I love Ukraine and would not want to live anywhere else.
I have not been silent since day one.
Nor did I shout the loudest, partly due to personal circumstances.
And I have always treated people, including my colleagues, with kindness.
I did not engage in any political propaganda.
Не broadcast hatred.
But I never denied the fact of Russia's attack on Ukraine and the fact of the war. From day one.
Sofia then made cautious statements about the war in an abstract "peace to the world" fashion:
...The whole world is crying out. All countries are crying out. Presidents, celebrities. The whole world knows and pleads. But everything continues. Because somewhere up there it was decided for us. Because to «someone up there,» human lives are bargaining chips for achieving certain «global goals.» Who the hell needs these goals? We need our lives, our homes. Everyone only needs peace!..
Shift in rhetoric and justification of Russian aggression
However, by the autumn of 2022, she began blaming Ukrainians themselves for provoking Russian missile strikes by rejoicing over attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Crimean Bridge.
Even now, when explosions are booming in my city, I think exactly what Zhenya wrote above. You cannot claim to be for peace while unrestrainedly rejoicing at the deaths or destruction of others. That means you are definitely not for peace.
On March 9, 2024, in an interview with Jenny Gordienko, Stuzhuk characterized her civic stance as follows:
War really is happening. Russia attacked Ukraine and that is a fact. My personal position is not to be someone who just swallows prevailing agendas and hypocritically produces whatever benefits my reputation but isn't truly me. I am absolutely not a traitor.
In January 2026, Stuzhuk effectively justified Russian aggression, declaring:
The active aggressor turns out to be Russia. But after all, you and I understand that on the whole, Russia has no interest in killing people. Russia has an interest in territories. People in Ukraine are dying simply for territories. They are dying simply for the integrity of the country. They are giving their lives for territory that is of interest to whom? To the Ukrainian authorities. Are these illogical things? Is this unclear to anyone?
Stuzhuk's remarks were commented on by Ukrainian attorney Yevhen Pronin: "Russia is being portrayed as a state that allegedly had no desire to kill people and is merely pursuing 'territorial interests.' This objectively legitimizes military aggression and war crimes."
Cooperation and business ties with Russia
According to investigations by OSINT Bees, Sofia Stuzhuk's commercial operations are conducted through Russian infrastructure and Russian legal mechanisms. The website https://sofiastuzhuk.club lists Russian banking credentials, and payments are processed via Russian payment gateways Tinkoff Pay and Yandex Pay, which indicates the payment of taxes in the Russian Federation.
In February 2024, Sofia openly spent time in Dubai partying with prominent Russian influencers, flaunting it on her social media platforms. Stuzhuk continues to run all her social media channels in the Russian language.
In early December 2024, she launched a new collaborative commercial project with Russian "info-business" figure Yulia Kumerina.
In September 2025, detectives from the Territorial Administration of the Bureau of Economic Security in Kyiv opened criminal proceedings against Stuzhuk on suspicion of tax evasion exceeding 11 million hryvnias.
Speculations on the theme of the war in Ukraine
Living abroad and having no intention of returning to Ukraine (according to her own statements), she never misses an opportunity to generate hype around sensitive trigger topics in Ukraine: the Russian language, military draft officers (TCK), border closures for conscript-aged men, claims that "Ukraine is a concentration camp", hating pro-Russian celebrities, and similar themes.
Rather than engaging in constructive dialogue, Sofia exploits the raw emotions of war-weary Ukrainians solely to boost engagement across her social media accounts.
While acknowledging the fact of the Russian invasion, Sofia Stuzhuk simultaneously excuses the aggression, shifts blame for the consequences of the war onto Ukrainians, and maintains deep collaborative ties with the Russian commercial sphere. In her public discourse, she effectively repeats and normalizes Kremlin propaganda narratives regarding the war.
Celebrities on Stuzhuk's position
This lady is silent. «No to war» is a very modest stance for a Ukrainian blogger with such a following. Especially since so many Russians follow her. I thought that right now bloggers should actively prove themselves in the information war, which is also extremely important.
Sorry not sorry. I don't understand how anyone can be like this. From the very beginning of the war, complete disregard of the aggression against our state. Her account was restored a week ago, and she hasn't written a single post or story explaining her position. Such people need to be kicked out with disgrace! Traitor!
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