YATORO (Raddan, real name Ilya Mulyarchuk) is a Ukrainian esports player, professional Dota 2 player, and carry for Team Spirit. He is a three-time winner of The International — the most prestigious tournament in Dota 2. He was born on March 12, 2003, in Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine.
YATORO's position on the war in Ukraine
After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ilya Mulyarchuk did not make loud political statements, but demonstrated a pro-Ukrainian stance.
Support for Ukraine after the invasion
On March 4, 2022, Yatoro posted the flag of Ukraine on Instagram without a caption.
On March 5, 2022, he took part in recording an anti-war video on the Natus Vincere channel. More than 10 well-known Ukrainian and even Russian esports stars, bloggers, analysts, and hosts appeared in the video, calling on the esports community not to stay silent and help stop the war.
In April 2022, Yatoro published a video of his apartment in Bucha destroyed by the Russians.
He changed his Steam avatar to an image of the red-and-black flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), demonstrating his stance regarding the Russian aggression.
In November 2022, he published a photo of graffiti featuring a bloodied Putin against the background of the Russian flag with the caption: "Kherson was liberated, by the way."
Performances for Team Spirit and controversial ties
One of the main reasons for controversy surrounding YATORO remains his appearances for Team Spirit — an organization with Russian roots, in which the majority of players are Russians.
After the start of the full-scale war, Team Spirit announced the relocation of its main operations and headquarters to Belgrade (Serbia), positioning itself as an international organization. However, the Ukrainian esports community criticizes this move, calling the relocation a manipulation to evade international sanctions.
Sponsorship by Russian companies
Criticism intensified after Team Spirit signed a sponsorship agreement with the Russian company Yandex in January 2023, making the Yandex Eats service an official partner of the Dota 2, CS:GO, and Hearthstone rosters.
The company's logo was placed on player jerseys, including those of the reigning The International champions. Yandex has Russian origins and continues operating in the Russian Federation, paying taxes to the Russian budget, which is used, among other things, to finance the war against Ukraine.
In April 2024, Team Spirit also signed a partnership agreement with the Russian betting company BetBoom.
Other controversial episodes
Additional condemnation was sparked by an incident when Mulyarchuk defended a Russian player from the sanctioned team Virtus.pro, after which Ukrainian media characterized him as a "Little Russian with Ukrainian citizenship."
Subscribers also noticed that during livestreams, YATORO listens to Russian Z-artists (for instance, Madk1d).
Sanctions from the UESF
In August 2023, the Ukrainian Esports Federation (UESF) blacklisted Yatoro for competing on the same team with Russians. This was reported by organization representative Maksym Raymer on his Telegram channel.
В статье приведено достаточно фактов, подтверждающих его проукраинскую позицию. Но именно сочетание этих фактов с Team Spirit и Yandex делает его случай спорным.
1. Перенес свой офис в Белград
2. Никак не ущемлял своих украинских игроков и в какой то мере помогал им например: Психологическая материальная помощь