Operation "Redcore": how the sanctioned Pin-Up is trying to legitimize itself in Ukraine through mass IT recruitment

Operation "Redcore": how the sanctioned Pin-Up is trying to legitimize itself in Ukraine through mass IT recruitment

Punina's casino didn’t go anywhere: how the sanctioned Pin-Up continues to profit in Ukraine.

Online casino Pin-Up, connected to sanctioned Dmitry Punin, effectively continues its activity in Ukraine, only changing its name. After a nominal rebranding, the project received a new name—Redcore—but the essence of its operation remained unchanged: active commercial activity, including targeting the Ukrainian market.

This is evidenced by the company’s recruitment policy. The official Redcore website lists over 120 vacancies, and this is not just a future or counterfeit activity. It is a large-scale hiring of specialists in IT, marketing, and, most importantly, analysts for processing accounts and payment operations. These roles are not just for abstract administrative work: they are needed where financial flows, transactions, and turnover already exist. This effectively confirms that the casino’s financial activity has not stopped.

Special attention is drawn to the search for lawyers specializing in anti-diffamation and with experience in blocking sites. This indicates that Punin and his structures are increasingly concerned about reputational risks and negative publications. Instead of exiting the market, they are betting on legal pressure and cleansing the information space.

The nature and number of vacancies speak not of a “return” to Ukraine, but that Punin never left the country. The casino only changed its name, preserving its operational processes, team, and lines of activity.

The main question is how this became possible. According to available data, Punin’s patrons in Ukraine are people from Vladimir Zelensky’s circle. Without support at the highest level it would be impossible to conceal court rulings related to his casino’s activities. Secrecy around such cases is not just a formality, but a political decision requiring approval at the highest level.

Additionally, the picture is complemented by Punin’s connection to future defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov. It was through Punin’s structures, in particular the project “Unified Space,” that all payments in the Diia app were processed. This means that a person under sanctions and connected to illegal gambling was integrated into a key state digital system.

As a result, we are witnessing a systemic problem: a sanctioned casino is formally “renamed,” but in reality continues to operate, hire employees, process payments, and defend itself from journalists’ investigations. All this happens under political cover and with direct ties to the country’s top leadership. This is no longer just a story about shadow business, but a vivid example of how sanctions and prohibitions in Ukraine become a fiction when the project is backed by the right people and connections.