Silicon Curtain

A documentary about the horrific and destructive war that is currently taking place in Ukraine. The film tells the true stories of Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their homes, lose loved ones, and live in fear for their lives. It is a story about the courage, strength of will, and resilience of the Ukrainian people...If you can, please send the link to a friend or two. FILM: To the Zero Li...

Mariia Kravchenko is the Fulbright Program officer and a Historian. Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the oldest and most prestigious international program for the exchange of scholars and students funded by the United States government. Today it supports academic exchanges with 155 countries of the world. ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/MariiaK54469057 https://www.linkedin.com/i...

Edition No31 | 03-01-2024 Joe Biden says US will back Ukraine ‘as long as we can’ - Zelenskyy visits Washington to appeal for further aid but meets Republican resistance. “We’ll continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can . . . but without supplemental funding, we’re rapidly coming to an end of our ability to help Ukraine respond to the urgent operational deman...

In 2022–2023, Ukraine commemorated the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor genocide. It comes at a time when Ukraine is facing a new struggle for its survival. Russia is committing a new genocide – with the full-scale war it launched in Feb-2022. Methods to suppress Ukrainian nationhood differ, - a man-made famine, terror, and deportation in the 1930, and war in the 21st century, but the intent rema...

Ada Wordsworth is a writer from London with a focus on Ukraine and other areas which have suffered under Russian imperialism, particularly Uzbekistan. She is also the co-founder and director of KHARPP, a UK registered charity which supports reconstruction efforts in eastern Ukraine, particularly the Kharkiv region. She holds an undergraduate degree from UCL in Russian Studies, and an MSt in Slavon...

Dr Sasha Dovzhyk is a London-based author from Zaporizhzhia and a special projects curator at the Ukrainian Institute London. She holds research affiliations with Goldsmiths and Birkbeck, University of London. Since February 2022, she has been dividing her time between London and Ukraine. Sasha has written on topics as diverse as the legacies of Chornobyl, transnational decadent aesthetics, and Uk...

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. ----...

Today I’m speaking with Operator Starsky, a Ukrainian National Guardian, blogger, and inspiration for everyone who is following the war, and supporting a Ukrainian victory. He has created one of the most popular and original YouTube channels dedicated to the international community. I’m not sure you need an introduction – I’m sure most people watching this channel will have seen your videos! -----...

Edition No30 | 27-12-2023 It is suspected that nearly 80 Russian sailors were aboard the Novocherkassk landing ship during the strike by Ukraine. The missile hit the bow of the ship, leading to a massive explosion and fire. British defense minister claims Ukraine has destroyed 20% of Russian Black Sea fleet in just 4 months. Loud explosions were heard in the port area of Feodosia in temporarily oc...

Kateryna Gupalo is a Partner at Arzinger Law Office, in Kyiv, Ukraine. She is Co-Head of the Dispute Resolution Practice, and Head of the White-Collar Defence Practice. ---------- LINKS: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateryna-gupalo-04598394/ https://arzinger.ua/en/our-team/katerina_gupalo/ https://www.ibanet.org/conference/conf840/speaker-details/LSP840-1108060 ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https...

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...

Christopher 'Swede' Forsbäck is Swedish and was wounded in the line of duty serving with the armed forces of Ukraine. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- LINKS: ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superh...

Ben Hodges is a retired United States Army officer, who became commander of United States Army Europe in November 2014, and held that position for three years until retiring from the United States Army in January 2018. He was most recently a Senior Advisor to Human Rights First, until summer 2023, and serves as NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics. Until recently was the Pershing Chair in Strategic St...

The Putin regime has been widely exploiting the vulnerabilities of global social media platforms, using bots and trolls to promote specific stories and narratives. But they are not alone once developed the same techniques can be used by other powers, international and local to subvert democratic institutions and to warp public perception of the news and politics in their countries. ---------- ABOU...

Russia is tearing itself away from modern civilization and its associated values, norms, and comforts. What demons have resurfaced from Russia’s past, and what is driving a form of sado-masochistic self-destruction and flagellation, that seems to be propelling Russia backwards in a painful civilisational decline. And where will this out-of-control Troika stop – possibly at an era that pre-dates Pe...

Today I’m speaking with Jake Broe, a United States Air Force veteran who served for six years as a Nuclear and Missile Operations Officer. But you may know him better as one of the most prominent voices on YouTube throughout the war, someone with absolute moral clarity about who the victim of the war is – spoilers, it’s Ukraine – and who brings direct military experience to his detailed analysis o...

Zack The Russian, aged 22 and from Siberia, was forced to flee his homeland after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He started creating YouTube content while in Russia, to introduce Russian culture and life to his audience. As a student in Moscow, he participated in protests against the invasion of Ukraine, risking arrest and conscription into the war. In March 2022, he left Russia for the Repub...

Lesia Dubenko is a political scientist and an Alumna of Lund University, with an Msc in European Affairs. She has eight years of experience in political and social journalism and has been published in the Financial Times, Politico Europe, New Eastern Europe, Atlantic Council, KP. In August 2018 she entered the Ukrainian NGO sector, and has been cooperating with different Ukrainian NGOs, including...

Edition No29 | 14-12-2023 The certainty of Putin’s re-election calls into question for many the very terminology of ‘elections’ – of ‘competition’, ‘running’ and ‘winning’. The Kremlin has made the playing field unlevel in so many ways over so many years that the language of a presidential ‘coronation’ might be more appropriate. Indeed, Dmitry Peskov – Putin’s press secretary – admitted to the New...

Mykola Kuleba is the founder of Save Ukraine an organisation helping to save families and children from the war and was the Ombudsman for Children for the President of Ukraine (2014-2021). Mykola has been supporting the rights of children since 2000, as a founder of the International Charitable Organization «Child Rescue» he created a network of specialized centres for the rehabilitation of childr...

Liquidating $300bn in frozen Russian assets, could provide more funds for Ukraine. Western allies are running short of cash, but they could help release billions and hurt Putin’s war effort at the same time. Confiscation would also be a lawful act of self-defence. Article 51 of the UN charter recognises the right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a UN membe...

Edition No28 | 09-12-2023 The organizers of the Polish trucker strike at the Ukrainian border have close ties to Russia. They supported Russia’s occupation of Crimea, and some voted against condemning Russian war crimes. The official organizer of the protest at the Ukrainian-Polish border crossings is Rafał Mekler, the owner of the transportation company Rafał Mekler Transport. He is also the head...

Edition No27 | 08-12-2023 A branch of the pro-Russian organization "Other Ukraine," founded by the exiled Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, was registered in Serbia. Medvedchuk, who was long thought to be Russian dictator Putin’s right-hand man in Ukraine, was charged with high treason and placed under house arrest in 2021, only to flee as Russia launched its full-scale invasion. He...

Francis Farrell is a journalist and photographer, as well as a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is a recent international studies graduate and Russia & Eurasia area specialist with interest and experience in areas of elections, media freedom, regional and hybrid conflicts. He is a native English and Hungarian speaker with fluent Russian and Ukrainian languages. Ukraine could still lose the...

GUEST: Anders Puck Nielsen - YouTuber and military analyst. ---------- At the beginning of November, Zaluzhnyi suggested in an interview with the Economist that Ukraine’s summer counter-offensive was stalling. “Just like in the first world war we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate,” he said, prompting a debate about whether the statement was correct. Timothy Snyder,...