(Apr 18, 2022)

Lira ran a YouTube channel with 143,000 subscribers, which he used to share his viewpoints on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His social media accounts had become controversial in recent weeks. Lira’s last tweets were critical of Ukraine and multiple media outlets. In a pinned tweet, he listed journalists that he claimed were victims of the “Zelensky regime” and wrote, “If you haven’t heard from me in 12 hours or more, put my name on this list.”