Silicon Curtain

Vladimir Putin's regime has increasingly been accused of embracing fascism, in its annexation of Crimea, its historical revisionism, attacks on liberal democratic values, and its support for far-right movements in Europe. These tendencies have accelerated with the full-scale war in Ukraine. So, does Russia now meet the diverse criteria for historic fascism, or it’s off-shoot, German Nazism? Ru...

Natalie Sabanadze is Senior Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Program, at Chatham House. Natalie was Georgia’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the EU and head of the Georgian mission to the European Union in May 2013. Prior to assuming her current position, Sabanadze worked as the senior adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in The Hague. She held a number of posts wit...

Illia Ponomarenko is a Ukrainian journalist, war reporter and defence analyst formerly writing for The Kyiv Independent. In January 2023, given his prominent role in reporting from the conflict, he was described by Der Spiegel as "likely the best-known Ukrainian after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy". He has written an account of his experiences reporting on the war – I Will Show You How I...

Ukraine will not succeed in liberating its lands without the provision of long-range missiles, argues Colby Badhwar. For Kyiv, the ability to strike operational and strategic targets deep inside enemy territory — i.e. inside Russia itself — is not a whim, but a crucial necessity. But are allies framing their strategy and aligning their production and logistic capabilities accordingly? The manufact...

Jen Stout is a journalist, writer, and radio producer from Scotland, frequently working in Ukraine. Originally from Shetland she has lived in Germany and Russia. Her reports are often found in the Sunday Post and on BBC Radio. And she’s written a fabulous book: Night Train to Odesa: Covering the Human Cost of Russia's War, which we’ll be discussing today. ---------- LINKS: https://www.linkedin...

Ilya Ponomarev is a Russian-Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2016. After the 2022 Russian invasion, Ponomarev joined Ukraine's Territorial Defence Forces, and categorically denounced the invasion. While a member of the Russian State Duma, he was the only deputy not to vote in favour of the Russian gay propaganda law and to vote against Russia's a...

Dr Taras Kuzio is a British academic and Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, and an expert on politics, crime and security in Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. Taras Kuzio is of Ukrainian descent and received a BA in economics from the University of Sussex, an MA in Soviet studies from the University of London and holds a doctorate in political science fro...

GUEST: Anders Puck Nielsen - YouTuber and military analyst. ---------- Today I’m speaking with Anders Puck Nielsen, military analyst and influential YouTuber based in Denmark. He specialises in naval warfare and strategy; in today’s video we are going to be talking about Ukrainian successes against Russia’s Black Sea fleet and state of the ground war in Ukraine. ---------- LINKS: https://www.youtu...

Fears of Russia’s collapse in Biden’s and Scholz’s administrations run deep and can't be changed by telling stories of Russian war crimes alone. Advisers and analysts have been conditioned by decades of Soviet nuclear threat and memory of the chaotic and rapid collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. But what can turn politicians that cling to security blanket of escalation management, into...

Edition No42 | 23-04-2024 ~~~~~ SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ~~~~~ KYIV INDEPENDENT https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-over-20-000-russian-troops-trying-to-storm-chasiv-yar-budanov-says-ukraine-to-face-difficult-situation-from-mid-may/ https://kyivindependent.com/breaking-u-s-house-passes-61-billion-ukraine-aid-...

Disinformation continues to be a threat to Ukrainian sovereignty and is also targeted at Western democracies and allies of Ukraine. Around the world aggressive information warfare threatens information security and social stability, especially in states which Russia seeks to destabilise or coerce into supporting it. As we saw in the 2016 US elections, it can potentially threaten results of voting,...

Yuliya Ziskina is a Policy and advocacy attorney specializing in information policy and public international law from Ukraine. She is based in the New York City Metropolitan Area. ---------- LINKS: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliya-ziskina/ https://twitter.com/jziskina?lang=en https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/yuliya-ziskina https://www.lawfaremedia.org/contributors/yziskina ARTICLES: https://w...

The approach to supporting Ukraine which Western leaders have been taking so far has been „as long as it takes“. The lack of a clearly defined end goal impacted the pace and scale of the assistance, as well as raised questions on its efficiency. It cannot last this way in the protracted war as Ukraine’s mobilisation potential and resources are shorter than Russia’s. Instead, a clear commitment of...

GUEST: Anna from Ukraine - Anna Danylchuk ---------- Anna Danylchuk has been creating a war diary since the early days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. Anna Danylchuk aims to tell the truth about Ukraine and Russia’s war and cut through the noise and propaganda. Anna is passionate about the beauty and independence of her country, and communicates this powerfully in her vide...

Welcome to our monthly conversation with Konstantin, who is one of the most respected voices on YouTube about what is happening Inside Russia. Konstantin Samoilov is a well-known YouTuber whose channel ‘Inside Russia’ comments insightfully on Russia’s decent into authoritarianism over the last few years. But now, like many others, he’s outside Russia, with no idea of when he can return there. ----...

Edition No41 | 16-04-2024 ~~~~~ SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ~~~~~ KYIV INDEPENDENT https://kyivindependent.com/we-in-ukraine-know-very-well-the-horror-zelensky-condemns-iranian-missile-and-drone-attack-on-israel/ https://kyivindependent.com/syrskyi-situation-on-eastern-front-has-significantly-deteriorated-in-recent-days/ h...

Gregory Terry has worked in Ukraine for 26 years, facilitating the delivery of aid to frontline areas of the country. Like me, he uses YouTube as a tool to advocate for Ukraine and demonstrate the amazing work of his team on the ground. Greg has always been fascinated by the cultures, history, and languages of the region, growing up in an era which saw the opening up of the Soviet Union. I’ll let...

With the vote on Ukraine on the cusp, the Pro-Putin wing of the American Far right is pushing a specific narrative designed to enrage Americans and call the Christianity of Speaker Johnson into question. How is Moscow influencing the Right and is there narrative taken seriously in the American political landscape? ---------- DW Phillips is a documentary filmmaker and constitutional attorney with U...

Edition No4 | 10-04-2024 ~~~~~ SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ~~~~~ KYIV INDEPENDENT https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-ukraine-hits-aviation-training-center-in-russias-voronezh-oblast-source-says/ https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-april-6-7-2024/ https://kyivindependent.com/source-russias-engels-air-...

James Ker-Lindsay is an academic and analyst with internationally recognised expertise on Southeast Europe (Balkans, Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus). He has extensive experience working across Government, Private Sector, Higher Education, and Think Tanks. He is also a regular commentator for the international media, including the BBC, CNN and Reuters and was formerly Co-Editor of the Cyprus Review. Fr...

Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe. NATO's Strategic doctrine states that Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security, peace, and stability. It’s clear Russia wants to establish spheres of influence and control other countries through coercion, subversion, aggression, and annexation. We can now see clearly that Ru...

GUEST: Anastasiia Marushevska - Communications expert, speaker, writer, and traveller. ---------- About the report: This analytical report is dedicated to reviewing the origin and modifications of the Russian history-based propaganda that aims to legitimise the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The research provides a comprehensive analysis of the Russian historical myths that seek to distort Ukrain...

Fourthin a series of monthly conversations on Silicon Curtain, about how Ukrainians are redefining the ideas of freedom and democracy, and why Ukraine must not be allowed to fall under Russian control. ---------- ABOUT: Joe Lindsley is a traveller and a writer, and American reporting on Chicago's WGN Radio from Ukraine each and every weekday of Russia's full-scale war. He once was protégé...

Nigel Gould-Davies is a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. Between 2010 and 2013 he held senior government relations roles in the international energy industry. Previously he has also served in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where his roles included head of the Economic Section in Moscow, ambassador to Belarus, and proj...

Edition No39 | 03-04-2024 Ukraine's critical infrastructure targeted in Russian overnight attack. Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and missiles overnight on March 31, damaging infrastructure facilities and killing at least one person. Russian troops hit Ukraine with drones and missiles, including 11 Shahed drones, 14 cruise missiles, an Kh-59 guided missile, and an Iskander-M ballistic miss...