YouTuber Vaush Receives Backlash For Saying The U.S. Needs To 'Starve Out' Russia In Regards To The Ukrainian Conflict

While streaming on Twitch this week, notable political YouTuber Vaush was relaying thoughts he held in regards to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict that some online found offensive. In a clip that circulated Twitter yesterday, Vaush stated, "I feel like the only thing [the U.S.] can do at this point is starve Russia out."

To aid his point, Vaush included that the U.S. is wealthier than Russia "in metrics" and that they should "sanction their leaders, cripple their economy and wait for them to bleed out." But his co-host immediately questioned him, saying that a lot of Russian civilians would get hurt in the imagined geopolitical mix-up. Others agreed with this counter-argument, with many on Twitter referring to Vaush's mindset as sociopathic or childish.

uh don't think there's any amount of context that would make this not sociopathicpic.twitter.com/Cxss8YUbaL

— group chat gato ❼ (@CarcosaLobbyist) February 3, 2022

As the clip reached more users, it accumulated more outrage, leading to multiple humorous tweets and memes. Most users who were inspired enough to publicly react did so with criticism. Many labeled Vaush as an entitled American while others gave more well-rounded strategies in regards to Russia, insisting that food sanctions simply wouldn't work.

Vaush wakes up every morning and reads the official US state department policy document with his breakfast https://t.co/FBNr0lQvXV

— K-Cat ⚫ (@cyberfxg) February 3, 2022

Why does he sound so disappointed about the fact that we can’t just assassinate world leaders? pic.twitter.com/9FFngEztbY

— The Emo Dragon 🎸🐉🖤 (@TheEmoDragon) February 1, 2022

"The Russians have made their decision. Now they need to starve." https://t.co/qIuoiawPFj pic.twitter.com/KYlDcRsWE2

— Clown Prince of Posting (@brobrah_sama) February 1, 2022

It’s time to actively shame and bully Vaush fans out of any leftist spaces https://t.co/gmHBf0FDz3

— The Red Menace 🤍 (@redmenace1222) February 3, 2022

'Just one more holodomor please god nothing else matters' pic.twitter.com/KOm9GYutYo

— lupus maenad (@foxfriend) February 4, 2022

He calls Russia an oligarchy, so why sanction the whole of the country? I would think very targeted sanctions would be the only ones worth considering.

— Azzashood (@Azzashood) February 3, 2022

I mean sanctions are less damaging than armed invasion….like surely that's obvious? all Russia has to do is stop what they're currently doing.

— 🎀0nlad0ras🥥 (@0nlad0ras) February 3, 2022

russia's not literally gonna starve they're a net food exporter – but if we sanction their oil and gas industry we can cut off their ability to fund their military

— Transhumanist Ben (@amtrpa) February 3, 2022

Of course, there were others online who took Vaush's side, defending him against those aiming for cancelation. Some cited a moment that happened later in the stream, where Vaush reiterated that he didn't believe in sanctions levied against civilians but rather exclusively towards Russian oligarchs. Using this as evidence of Vaush's good character, users agreed that his previous remarks were light-hearted, intended as a joke or to be taken with a grain of salt.

Here is the clip where Vaush clarifies he does not support sanctions that would harm Russian civilians pic.twitter.com/ERfsB6LR52

— DreamLeaf 🍂 (@DreamLeaf5) February 3, 2022

Surely you saw the part of the video where he clarified that he’d be in favor of sanctions that targeted oligarchs and not the Russian people

— Tequila Sunset (@TequilaSunset14) February 3, 2022

Vaush: lets not bomb people, lets just sanction them its less brutal

Critics: Vaush Wants to KILL civilians!!

— Tim Pool (@Timcast) February 3, 2022

sanctions are %100 a reasonable foreign policy response to a country annexing and invading their neighbors. clutch your pearls harder

— NorthStarLefty ✴️🏴🚩 (@NorthStarLefty) February 3, 2022

I get the point he is trying for at least I think. Sanctions to Russia are better than war which would in turn have a higher death count. However, sanctions rare harm the rich just the working class.

Honestly, I don’t know the correct action beyond posturing.

— DaWittyWombat🕊 (@DaWittyWombat) February 3, 2022

The chatter became so loud that Vaush addressed the controversy yesterday, posting multiple tweets and quote tweets defending his statements. However, all of them had an un-serious hint to them, using memes and pop culture references to dunk on the people attacking him.

https://t.co/WtPg7M0tPg pic.twitter.com/c03jFrM2Ih

— Vaush (@VaushV) February 3, 2022

it's tough, being objectively correct all the time

— Vaush (@VaushV) February 3, 2022

people will call ME the "fake leftist" when they haven't even heard of anarcho-sanctionism smh 😤

— Vaush (@VaushV) February 3, 2022

This isn't the first time Vaush has received backlash for his statements. In 2020, he was accused of sexual harassment because of comments he made in a Discord server. He was also screenshotted talking about lowering the age of consent in 2021, as well as being accused of being a pedophile on Twitter for comments he made about lolis. However, known for his hyperbolic statements and loyal fanbase, Vaush's online presence seems stable in the meantime.