Global Courant 2023-04-17 12:25:25
Sarah Bils, a 37-year-old divorcee from New Jersey and a veteran of the United States Navy
To her devoted followers, “Donbas Devushka” – or Donbas Girl – is a Russian Jew from the occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk, who has been faithfully broadcasting Kremlin propaganda for months.
But in reality, she is Sarah Bils, a 37-year-old divorcee from New Jersey and a US Navy veteran who worked as an avionics technician on Whitby Island, Washington.
Donbas Devushka came into existence after Russia launched it invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
She built up a significant social media following on Twitter, Telegram and YouTube, and emerged as the face of Russian propaganda, raising money and selling merchandise for the Russian cause.
Using various pseudonyms including CheburekiVibes, MeatballSubZero, YuGopnik, GhostofLugansk, she has amassed 135,000 subscribers to her podcast on which she broadcasts with a cod “Russian” accent.
‘Donbass Devushka’, the pro-Russian propogandist, has been exposed as a 37-year-old New Jersey Navy veteran
Several of her Twitter accounts were suspended, but undeterred, she built Donbas Devushka’s disinformation empire – branded as “girl and cat against the whole world”.
Ms. Bils has been exposed by the North Atlantic Fella Organization – NAFO – which is dedicated to raising funds for Ukraine and fighting disinformation.
As Donbas Devushka, she posted pictures on Twitter, mentioning her first name Mila. She created a YouTube channel last July and then another Twitter account, under the name @Luganskforlife.
She also claims, at least on social media, to be an expert on geopolitics and history. In one profile, Ms. Bils says she studies at the online School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University.
Enthusiasm for tropical fish to prove its downfall
According to public information, she was born in Vorhees, New Jersey and enlisted in the United States Navy in November 2009. The discrepancies between her social media personality and reality are striking.
In 2014, Donbas Devushka told her followers that she had traveled between the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and Luhansk in Ukraine.
At that time, she claimed, Kiev was killing people in Luhansk, where the population is 53 percent Ukrainian and 47 percent Russian.
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Sarah Bils, pictured, is a veteran of the United States Navy
However, the reality was that she was involved in a lawsuit with her husband of three years in Oak Harbor, Washington.
She also split her time between serving in the Navy and running Cascade Aquatics, a company that sells tropical fish and food imported from Poland.
Her reputation among tropical fish enthusiasts was good, and the community regarded her as knowledgeable and reliable.
Mrs. Bils’ enthusiasm for tropical fish would prove her downfall.
She appeared in an Aquarium co-op podcast in June 2020. NAFO later compared the footage, including her voice and interior, to Donbas Devushka’s posts.
NAFO identified Donbas Devushka as Sara Bils – occasionally spelled Beales.
An unclear departure from the navy
The circumstances under which she left the Navy are unclear.
Ms. Bils was involved in a high-speed collision, but claims that she was fired for drink-driving have not been verified and there are no court documents proving she was prosecuted.
But Ms. Bils claims she was forced out of the services because of her left-wing views.
Ms. Bils was interviewed at her home over the weekend and admitted that she was the administrator of Donbas Devushka accounts and host of the podcasts.
She added that she was one of 15 people involved in running the network and declined to name the others.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Donbas Devushka Telegram account played a key role in the spread of intelligence documents leaked by Airman First Class Jack Teixeira, reposting them on a series of obscure online chat rooms. But Ms. Bils denied being personally involved.
“I clearly know the seriousness of top secret classified material. We didn’t leak them.”
