Silicon Curtain

2026-03-12 | UPDATES #143 | What does it say about the state of mind in the Putin regime, that it has started normalising communications blackouts in its own capital? This is where Russia is now – internet shutdowns in the centre of Moscow have become daily occurrences. Is it to do with war security, as the regime claims, or is it to do with fears of a coup, circulating as rumours? Over the past w...

Jason Jay Smart is a political adviser who has lived and worked in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Latin America. Due to his work with the democratic opposition to Vladimir Putin, Smart was made persona non grata for life by Russia in 2010. Jason is a Special Correspondent at the Kyiv Post. It’s the state of US support for Ukraine that we will discuss today.----------LINKS:ht...

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Tr...

David DeBatto is host of the ‘No Delusion Zone’ podcast @NoDelusionZone is a retired U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent, a geopolitical analyst, writer, and podcaster. David is an Iraq war veteran who served as Team Leader of a Tactical Human Intelligence Team (THT) in operations within Iraq and is also a former police officer. David is considered too conservative for the progressive left...

Silicon Bites Ep294 | 2026-03-01 | Russia is the best ally, until things get real, and a response is requested. Is Putin ‘ghosting’ the Iranian regime, and reneging on mutual security commitments? What is the value of an alliances when one side weasels out in the moment of dire need? And are the U.S. and Russia vying to see who can be the very worst of allies within their circle of ‘partners’? Rus...

2026-02-28 | UPDATES #141 | War Without the Vote: US–Israel strikes on Iran, the law they skipped, and the Ukraine knock-on effects. It’s Saturday 28 February 2026 and the U.S. is at war with Iran. It finally happened. The United States has launched strikes on Iran alongside Israel — and the White House is calling this “major combat operations.” Is this an unambiguous declaration of war, or someth...

Gen. David H. Petraeus is a retired four-star general and former Director of the CIA (2011–2012). In uniform, he led multiple high-profile commands, including the Iraq “surge”, U.S. Central Command, and the NATO/coalition mission in Afghanistan. After government service, he moved into the private sector and is currently Chair of the KKR Global Institute. In the last two years, Petraeus has been on...

Livestream with Yuri RashkinLINKS:https://rashkinreport.substack.com/https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rashkin-report/id1183073638----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 c...

David Satter is a journalist and historian with unique insights into how the deformation and repression of the past, is having terrible consequences for present day Russia. David has written extensively about Russia and the Soviet Union, especially the decline and fall of the USSR and rise of post-Soviet Russia. David Satter became the first American journalist to be expelled from Russia since the...

Artem Moroz is a Ukrainian defense innovation and investment ecosystem specialist best known publicly for his leadership work inside BRAVE1, Ukraine’s state-backed defence-tech cluster. He is BRAVE1’s head of investor relations and a senior figure working on partnerships and international cooperation. Moroz has been a visible spokesperson for BRAVE1’s international outreach — most notably Ukraine’...

Jason Jay Smart is a political adviser who has lived and worked in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Latin America. Due to his work with the democratic opposition to Vladimir Putin, Smart was made persona non grata for life by Russia in 2010. Jason is a Special Correspondent at the Kyiv Post. It’s the state of US support for Ukraine that we will discuss today.----------LINKS:ht...

Cormac Smith has worked in Public Relations and Corporate Communications for over three decades. In 2016 he traveled to Ukraine to take up a special appointment as the ‘Strategic Communication Advisor’ to Pavlo Klimkin, then the Foreign Minister of Ukraine. He was attached to the British Embassy in Kyiv but was embedded in Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first foreigner to hold such a p...

Silicon Bites Ep293 | 2026-02-25 | Druzhba on Fire: Ukraine’s drones, Orbán’s veto, Fico’s power cut — and Europe’s energy solidarity stress-test. I love the smell of burning Russian oil in the morning – it smells, like… VICTORY! You may have seen the videos of the burning installation? Absolutely spectacular. A fireball in Tatarstan — more than a thousand kilometers from the Ukrainian border — an...

2026-02-23 | UPDATES #140 | The Kill Zone — how the drone war is rewriting strategy in Ukraine. Based on an original text from The Financial Times – “Inside the ‘kill zone’”, how drones are reshaping Ukraine’s frontline — and the future of warfare by Christopher Miller in Kyiv and Chris Campbell, Peter Andringa and Sam Joiner in London. Structure: Two acts —I. The battlefield revolutionII. The str...

Livestream with Jonathan MS Pearce and friends. Fundraising for equipment through Dzyga's Paw, and trucks for Car4Ukraine. Donate to help out:https://dzygaspaw.com/projectshttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaigns----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disi...

2026-02-17 | UPDATES #134 | Russia’s Economy Enters the “Death Zone”. Russia’s war economy hasn’t “collapsed”. It’s done something worse. It has climbed into what mountaineers call the death zone — that altitude where the body survives by consuming itself. (X (formerly Twitter))Here’s the key question: if Vladimir Putin chooses more war, what breaks first? If he chooses to pause the war, what brea...

Silicon Bites Ep286 | 2026-02-16 | Britain and four European allies now say Alexei Navalny wasn’t just ‘mistreated’ in prison — he was poisoned with a rare neurotoxin linked to poison dart frogs. Finally, they’re naming it. Some of us always believe he was deliberately killed, but would not have expected that such a rare, expensive and theatrical poison would have been used. It seems that the crue...

2026-02-16 | UPDATES #133 | Russian losses now outpacing recruitment (again) — and why Moscow is leaning harder on foreign fighters. The military math in Moscow does not add up – the tally between bodies in, bodies out. The difference between vodka fueled recruits and sunflower fodder. And for a war being fought at drone-speed and trench-distances, that’s arithmetic Putin can’t spin. Multiple stre...

Today I’m speaking with Operator Starsky, a former 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...

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 videos, in a clear and honest way.----------LINKS: @Annaf...

Silicon Bites Ep292 | 2026-02-23 | Russia is closed for business — the war economy that is devouring its own future. Russian opposition economist Vladimir Milov says Russia’s economy now runs on one fuel: state war spending. Businesses can’t invest, workers are disappearing, interest rates crush enterprise — and the Kremlin doesn’t seem to care. The result? A country technically functioning, but e...

2026-02-23 | UPDATES #139 | March 2014. Moscow. The world still pretends Crimea is a “local crisis.” Diplomats still talk about “off-ramps.” European politicians still think sanctions might gently persuade the Kremlin back to reality. And on a cold street in the Russian capital — something extraordinary happens. Thousands gather for the March of Peace. One of the speakers is a former Deputy Prime...

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. ----...

Silicon Bites Ep291 | 2026-02-22 | Russia will disappear. Its population consumed by imperial lust and pointless aggression. Compliance to a dictator that expends their lives senselessly and without care. Putin may be prepping a new mobilisation and the further hardening of the police state and repression. In this episode we cover the evidence of what Moscow is doing now, and what it may be planni...

2026-02-22 | UPDATES #138 | Massive blow for Russia — the Votkinsk strike. A bold, deep-strike into the heart of Russia’s missile industry — Ukraine has hit the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant. It’s a long-range, high-value operation that — if confirmed — could blunt Moscow’s ability to replenish ballistic and cruise missiles. On the night of 20–21 February 2026 — Ukrainian forces say they struck...