
Dominic Culverwell is a British-born, Kyiv-based journalist and business reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where his beat covers Ukrainian companies, investment, energy, corruption and reform. He joined the publication in 2023 after freelance work for outlets including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, RFE/RL, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Before that, he worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian narratives in Europe.----------LINKS:Kyiv Independent London event: https://tickets.kyivindependent.com/events/thekyivindependentlive/2281999https://kyivindependent.com/https://kyivindependent.com/author/dominic/https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-culverwell-283b71153/https://muckrack.com/dominic-culverwell-https://x.com/DomCulvhttps://www.rferl.org/author/dominic-culverwell/u_ykqy----------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 - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------
Sep 26
45 min

Silicon Bites Ep406 | 2026-09-26 | What comes after Putin’s sham election? Russia’s hidden mass mobilisation is already running and will be far bigger than the western allies are expecting or planning for. It’s time to wake up to the scale of the threat that Putin represents to the whole free world. Twenty-first of September 2022. Vladimir Putin goes on television and announces a "partial" mobilisation. Eight days earlier, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov had told the world there were no such plans. This is four years to the day. Now Russia's election chief, Ella Pamfilova, announces that Putin's United Russia has taken 355 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. A record. A supermajority. A parliament with no anti-war party in it, because the only anti-war party was struck off the ballot by the Supreme Court in August. Apparently, everyone is delighted with the war in Russia. ----------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:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:Mediazona — "Cases of forced deployment to the front are multiplying. Mediazona compiles known incidents" (22 Sept 2026): https://en.zona.media/article/2026/09/22/pacmobilisationMediazona Data Department — "Four years of 'partial' mobilisation. New data reveals the fates of Russia's mobilised men" (21 Sept 2026): https://en.zona.media/article/2026/09/21/mobilisedEuronews — "Putin's party wins record Duma majority in Kremlin-controlled elections as EU vows sanctions" (21 Sept 2026): https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/21/putins-party-wins-record-duma-majority-in-kremlin-controlled-elections-as-eu-vows-sanctionEuronews — "Putin's United Russia party wins record 355 parliament seats, election chief says" (21 Sept 2026): https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/21/russians-vote-in-final-day-of-parliamentary-electionsTRT World — "Putin's United Russia wins record 355 seats in State Duma" (21 Sept 2026): https://www.trtworld.com/article/d007edc36e76Outlook India (citing Reuters) — "Russia Election: Putin's United Russia Wins Record 355 Seats" (22 Sept 2026): https://www.outlookindia.com/international/russia-election-putins-united-russia-wins-record-355-seatsEuronews — "Russians leave before election ends, fearing mobilisation to follow" (19 Sept 2026): https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/19/russians-leave-before-election-ends-fearing-mobilisation-to-followCharter'97 — "For the 18th time since the start of summer, the Kremlin has stated that 'there will be no mobilization'" (18 Sept 2026): https://charter97.org/en/news/2026/9/18/698953UNN — "The Kremlin has already assured for the 18th time since the beginning of summer that there will be no new mobilization" (19 Sept 2026): https://unn.ua/en/news/the-kremlin-has-already-assured-for-the-18th-time-since-the-beginning-of-summer-that-there-will-be-no-new-mobilization-in-russiaBloomberg — "Russians Fear Putin Will Send Them to War Once Election Is Over" (18 Sept 2026): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-18/russians-fear-putin-will-send-them-to-war-once-election-is-overThe Spokesman-Review (Bloomberg syndication, full text) (18 Sept 2026): https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/sep/18/russians-fear-putin-will-send-them-to-war-once-ele/----------
Sep 26
22 min

Oleksandra Chorna is a Blogger and Therapist based in New York. She runs platforms including on YouTube focusing on democratic politics, authoritarian slide, and Ukraine's struggle to remain independent in the face of Russian aggression. ----------LINKS:https://www.youtube.com/@UC9WVWN8qNEiy2CofIUW9Zpw https://www.instagram.com/mom_ocracy/https://www.linkedin.com/in/oleksandra-chorna-30b9088/----------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 - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------
Sep 24
33 min

Silicon Bites Ep406 | 2026-09-24 | Everyone around Putin knows the war is lost — except grandpa. Explosive new leaks hint at what Putin’s inner circle believe, and the picture is hardly of loyalists that are invested in a common vision. Rather a cynical and spineless elite simply clinging to power and their lives – buying more time to grift and protect their ill-gotten gains. But what if there is no plan to what, what if there never was a plan? But they are all only improvising day to day to survive? ----------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:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:UA.News — "Hackers have published Peskov's correspondence regarding Prigozhin and Navalny" (23 Sep 2026; relays Agentstvo's analysis): https://ua.news/en/world/khakeri-opublikuvali-perepisku-pieskova-pro-prigozhina-i-navalnogoPriamyi Online (PRM) — "Hackers obtained correspondence between a Russian official and Peskov, discussing Tokayev and Prigozhin" (23–24 Sep 2026): https://prm.ua/en/hackers-obtained-correspondence-between-a-russian-official-and-peskov-discussing-tokayev-and-prigozhin/UNIAN — "'Все настолько плохо, что нужно что-то делать': хакеры слили переписку Пескова" (23 Sep 2026): https://www.unian.net/world/dmitriy-peskov-predskazal-smert-prigozhina-za-tri-mesyaca-13507953.htmlTSN — "'Нельзя помочь самоубийце': хакеры слили 'переписку' Пескова" (23 Sep 2026): https://tsn.ua/ru/svit/nelzya-pomoch-samoubiytse-hakery-slili-perepisku-peskova-o-putine-prigozhine-i-navalnom-foto-smi-3174272.htmlMY.UA news cluster — "Хакеры Black8Mirror слили переписку Пескова" (23 Sep 2026): https://my.ua/news/cluster/2026-09-23-khakery-black8mirror-slili-perepisku-peskova-chto-on-pisal-o-putine-prigozhine-i-tokaeveFocus.ua — "Переписка Пескова — что в Кремле писали о Дне ВМФ, выступлении Токаева и Пригожина" (23 Sep 2026): https://focus.ua/world/768777-perepiska-peskova-chto-v-kremle-pisali-o-dne-vmf-vystuplenii-tokaeva-i-prigozhinaYahoo News — "Putin's Paranoia Exposed in Leaked Kremlin Message Trove" (23 Sep 2026): https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/putin-paranoia-exposed-leaked-kremlin-210335389.htmlWikipedia — Mikhail Babich (background biography): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_BabichNewsweek — "Russia's Navy Day Sees Ships Replaced With Giant Banner of Vessel" (26 Jul 2026): https://www.newsweek.com/russia-navy-day-sees-ships-replaced-with-giant-banner-of-vessel-12249515Ground News aggregation (incl. Kyiv Independent, ISW) — Navy Day parade cancelled for second straight year: https://ground.news/article/russia-cancels-st-petersburg-navy-day-parade-for-second-straight-year-amid-ukrainian-drone-threatUkrainska Pravda — "Russia again decides not to hold its 'main naval parade'" (15 Jun 2026, citing Fontanka): https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/06/15/8039371/The Moscow Times — "Speaking Alongside Putin, Kazakh President Calls for Freeze of Ukraine War" (26 Jul 2026): https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/07/26/speaking-alongside-putin-kazakh-president-calls-for-freeze-of-ukraine-war-a93339----------
Sep 24
13 min

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----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyslhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/-----------
Sep 21
32 min

Silicon Bites Ep402 | 2026-09-17 | Flares at a Danish Helicopter, Drones over Lithuania and Moldova, Fire on Poland's Doorstep — Putin Has Stopped Deterring Europe and Started Shaping the Future Battlefield. Two flares. No warning. No radio call. One passed within metres of a Danish military helicopter over the Baltic Sea on Monday. A few metres more, and Denmark would be burying aircrew killed by a Russian warship in international waters.Moscow did not apologise. Moscow handed out a medal. On Wednesday, Russia's Defence Ministry announced that Andrei Belousov had awarded the ship's captain the medal "For Courage". The courage in question was firing pyrotechnics at a helicopter on a perfectly legal monitoring mission. It is a pattern, not an isolated incident. It also forces the question Europe keeps dodging. Is Putin still trying to deter us, or has he already moved into the next phase?----------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:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:Bloomberg, "Denmark Says Russian Warship Fired Flares at Helicopter," 15 Sep 2026 — https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-15/denmark-says-russian-warship-fired-flares-at-helicopterDefense News / Reuters, "Russian frigate fires flares towards Danish military helicopter," 15 Sep 2026 (Frederiksen quote) — https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/09/15/russian-frigate-fires-flares-towards-danish-military-helicopter/The Moscow Times, "Belousov Awards Warship Captain for 'Skillfully and Decisively' Firing Flares at Danish Helicopter," 16 Sep 2026 (Bruus quote via Reuters; corvette Soobrazitelny) — https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/09/16/belousov-awards-warship-captain-for-skillfully-and-decisively-firing-flares-at-danish-helicopter-a93724The Moscow Times, "Denmark Summons Russian Ambassador After Frigate Fires Flares Toward Military Helicopter," 15 Sep 2026 — https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/09/15/denmark-summons-russian-ambassador-after-frigate-fires-flares-toward-military-helicopter-a93709Al Jazeera / AFP / Reuters, "Russia warns Denmark after near miss in Baltic Sea," 15 Sep 2026 — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/15/russia-warns-denmark-after-near-miss-in-baltic-seaThe Irish Times, "Nato jets shoot down drone violating Lithuania's airspace," 15 Sep 2026 (von der Leyen quote) — https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2026/09/15/nato-jets-shoot-down-drone-violating-lithuanias-airspace/LRT / BNS, "Nausėda: drone shot down over Lithuania was Russian Gerbera headed for Ukraine," 16 Sep 2026 — https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/3054232/nauseda-drone-shot-down-over-lithuania-was-russian-gerbera-headed-for-ukraineMeduza, "Ukrainian electronic warfare apparently knocked a Russian attack drone off course and into Lithuanian airspace," 16 Sep 2026 — https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/16/ukrainian-electronic-warfare-apparently-knocked-a-russian-attack-drone-off-course-and-into-lithuanian-airspace-the-country-s-president-saysMezha, "Moldova Reports Two Drone Airspace Violations During Russian Attack on Ukraine," 14 Sep 2026 — https://mezha.net/eng/news/c1fec6fb_moldova_reports_two/----------
Sep 16
10 min

Andrew Ryvkin was born in the Soviet Union, grew up in Boston, then spent close to two decades in Moscow. He studied History and International Relations at St Petersburg State University and subsequently worked across media, advertising, PR and political television. He published glossy magazines in which Kremlin talking points appeared alongside luxury advertising, produced political talk shows that simulated pluralism while maintaining the state line, and worked within the milieu surrounding Vladislav Surkov and other Kremlin political managers. He now writes for outlets including The Atlantic and Air Mail, lectures on information warfare and authoritarian media systems, and is publishing a memoir, provocatively titled 'The Propagandist'.----------LINKS:https://andrewryvkin.com/https://andrewryvkin.substack.com/https://x.com/andryvkin?lang=en-GBhttps://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/about/people/andrew-ryvkinhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewryvkin/https://www.theatlantic.com/author/andrew-ryvkin/----------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 - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------
Sep 16
1 hr 16 min

Silicon Bites Ep401 | 2026-09-16 | Trump announced a truce that nobody had agreed to. As if uttering the lie loudly and demonstratively would make it so. This little authoritarian trick is wearing thin. Hours later Ukraine burned the AVT-6 unit at a Rosneft refinery — and Russia burned two Kyiv petrol stations. There is no truce. Never was and is very unlikely to be one until Putin snuffs it. The problem is that only one side’s act of violence is being treated in Washington as a problem. And of course, the problem according to Trump is the victim defending themselves, lawfully. Trump is an abuser, and a grifter, and so will always politically and psychologically side with the aggressor, a fellow abuser, the bully and parasite. This is the world he is comfortable with. ----------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:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:Kyiv Post — Ukraine Strikes Russian Refinery, Aircraft Plant and Ozon Facility in Massive Overnight Attack, 15 September 2026 — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/84536UNITED24 Media — Ukraine Confirms Strikes on Rosneft's Syzran Oil Refinery and Orion UAV Plant, 15 September 2026 — https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraine-confirms-strikes-on-rosnefts-syzran-oil-refinery-and-orion-uav-plant-22565Kyiv Post — Putin Resists Energy Truce Announced by Trump, 15 September 2026 — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/84540UNITED24 Media — Moscow Says Trump Energy Truce Is a "Very Good Idea" — But Adds One Big Demand (Peskov, via Ukrainska Pravda), 15 September 2026 — https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/moscow-says-trump-energy-truce-is-a-very-good-idea-but-adds-one-big-demand-22570Ukrainska Pravda — Peskov remarks on the proposed energy truce, 15 September 2026 — https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2026/09/15/8053526/Kyiv Post — Russian Drones Hit Kyiv Gas Stations, Kill 1 as 200 UAVs Attack Ukraine, 15 September 2026 — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/84528Euromaidan Press — Russian drones killed a man and injured eight in Kyiv, hitting two gas stations, 15 September 2026 — https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/09/15/russian-drones-killed-a-man-and-injured-eight-in-kyiv-hitting-two-gas-stations/UNITED24 Media — Russian Drones Target Kyiv Gas Stations Again as Morning Attack Injures Eight, 15 September 2026 — https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/russian-drones-target-kyiv-gas-stations-again-as-morning-attack-injures-eight-22555Reuters (via The Globe and Mail) — Brent rises above $107 as attacks, pipeline outage deepen Saudi supply concerns (contains the Reuters calculation on Russia's top diesel refineries), 15 September 2026 — https://theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-oil-climbs-as-saudi-pipeline-outage-fresh-attacks-heighten-supplyReuters (via US News) — Trump Tells Ukraine's Zelenskiy to Stop Hitting Russian Diesel, Doonbeg, 13 September 2026 — https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-09-13/trump-tells-ukraines-zelenskiy-to-stop-hitting-russian-dieselKyiv Independent — Trump tells Zelensky to stop striking Russian diesel infrastructure, 13 September 2026 — https://kyivindependent.com/trump-tells-zelensky-to-stop-striking-russian-diesel-infrastructure/----------
Sep 16
20 min

Malcolm Nance is a former career US Naval Intelligence officer specializing in counter-terrorism, intelligence and violent extremism. He has been an advisor to the US government’s law enforcement, Homeland Security and Intelligence agencies. As an Arabic-speaking special intelligence collections operator, field interrogator he provided top secret anti and counter-terrorism support to national intelligence agencies while on numerous reconnaissance and combat operations in the Balkans, Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. On April 18, 2022, Nance revealed that he had joined the Ukrainian Foreign Legion in March 2022. In an interview with Michael Harriot of The Guardian, Nance alluded to African-American military aviator Eugene Bullard's service in the French Foreign Legion to his service in Ukraine, hoping to inspire "African Americans and young Americans who have been in the military" and describing the International Legion as "the pantheon of the defense of democracy in the defense of Ukraine".----------LINKS:https://x.com/MalcolmNancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Nancehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/malcolmnance/https://www.spymuseum.org/host-an-event/spy-speaker-series/malcolm-nance/https://us.macmillan.com/author/malcolmnance----------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 - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------
Sep 16
34 min

Silicon Bites Ep400 | 2026-09-15 | A Putin-decorated oligarch paid for Don Jr's wedding party. Jared Kushner was a guest. Four months later, Kushner spoke remotely to an event in Kyiv and explained that the obstacle to peace is Ukraine. He is clearly upset that Ukraine won’t surrender, won’t capitulate to the aggressor, acquiesce to be erased. Both stories are crashing into our timelines today, in waves of disbelief, outrage and nausea. These are simply the worst people, dragging us to hell. Fireworks launched from a barge over the Caribbean. A five-tier cake airlifted in from Florida. Helicopters and seaplanes landing on a pair of ultra-exclusive private islands. The president's eldest son lifting his bride into the air on the sand. ----------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:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------Dedicated to the bravest person I know - who has set their will implacably against the enemy, who would stop at nothing to defend their land, their language, their family and their freedom. May they see live to see Ukraine liberated, and the enemy defeated and ground to dust. SOURCES:ProPublica — Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin, 14 September 2026 (full text as syndicated): https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-jr-2677854200/Meduza (English) — Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fund Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas wedding, 14 September 2026: https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/14/russian-oligarch-umar-kremlev-spent-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars-to-help-fund-donald-trump-jr-s-bahamas-weddingCBS News — Donald Trump Jr.'s wife says Russian oligarch hosted post-wedding festivities as a "gift", 14 September 2026: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-jr-wife-wedding-russian-umar-kremlev/Forbes — Donald Trump Jr. And Wife Defend Lavish Wedding 'Gift' From Russian Oligarch, 14 September 2026: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/09/14/donald-trump-jr-and-wife-defend-lavish-wedding-gift-from-russian-oligarch/Axios — What we know about the Putin ally who allegedly funded Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding, 14 September 2026: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/14/umar-kremlev-donald-trump-jr-wedding-bahamasThe Washington Times — Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding partially funded by Russian oligarch, ProPublica reports, 14 September 2026: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/14/donald-trump-jrs-wedding-partially-funded-russian-oligarch-propublica/The Hill — Top Oversight Democrat wants answers on Russian oligarch's role in Trump Jr.'s wedding, 14 September 2026: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/6088330-garcia-questions-russian-oligarch-funding/Rolling Stone — Don Jr.'s Wife Confirms Putin Ally Paid for Huge Portion of Wedding, 14 September 2026: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/putin-ally-umar-kremlev-paid-don-jr-wedding-1235626155/Ukraine War & Sanctions register (GUR) — entry for the All-Russian public movement "Healthy Fatherland", kidnappers section: https://war-sanctions.gur.gov.ua/en/kidnappers/companies/11460Proekt (English) — investigation into Umar Kremlev and Alexei Rubezhnoi: https://www.proekt.media/en/guide-en/kremlev-rubezhnoy/----------
Sep 14
15 min
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