Silicon Curtain

Silicon Bites Ep435 | 2026-10-27 | Why can’t good news be unambiguously good? And why does it feel like we are taking three steps forward and two steps back, always, every year of this full-scale war. Ukraine is moving towards victory, and the world is trying to pull it back, like a dragging anchor. Give Russia chances over and again to recover and keep fighting, not collapsing. Serbia's students toppled Putin’s man in Belgrade, then amid the euphoria, it emerged that they may want to keep his Russia policy, in fact, make it worse by banning the exports of weapons – munitions that the previous regime seemed happy to sell to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Washington tries to hand the UN to Viktor Orbán. I thought we’d got rid of that guy?!----------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:CNN / AP — Serbia's leader concedes defeat to student-led movement in seismic political shift (25 Oct 2026)NBC News / AP — Serbia's strongman leader Vučić concedes defeat to student-led movement (25–26 Oct 2026)Al Jazeera — Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian leader brought down by students (26 Oct 2026)NPR — "The smell of freedom": Serbia's student movement celebrates election triumph (26 Oct 2026)Hromadske — Serbia's election winners oppose sanctions on Russia and pledge to halt arms exports to war zones (Reuters) (26 Oct 2026)UNN — Serbia may halt arms exports to Ukraine — Reuters (27 Oct 2026)LIGA.net — Reuters: Serbian election winners want to halt arms exports that end up in Ukraine (AdriaDefense caveat) (27 Oct 2026)Ukranews — Serbia's new government will not impose sanctions against Russia and intends to halt arms sales to Ukraine (Gazprom 2.2 bcm) (27 Oct 2026)UkrMedia — The winners of the elections in Serbia want to halt arms supplies to Ukraine (Jovo Bakić on RT Balkan) (26 Oct 2026)Euronews — Trump officials back Orbán bid for UN secretary-general, WSJ reports (Sikorski reaction) (26 Oct 2026)Kyiv Post — Trump to nominate Viktor Orbán as UN Secretary General (26 Oct 2026)Ahram Online — Trump administration floats Viktor Orbán for UN secretary-general: WSJ (26 Oct 2026)----------

Silicon Bites Ep433 | 2026-10-25 | ----------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:----------

Shane O'NealDonor and Fundraiser for Ukraine. Volunteer Paramedic.----------LINKS:https://shaneoneal.com/uap/https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLibbyqZOaPh0zYj25Sg-pfG2GS6O8PXhJhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qTatjaRkysSUPPORTING:Ryan Hendrickson - Former Green Beret Ryan Hendrickson is the principal of Tip of the Spear Landmine Removal, Inc. https://landmineremoval.org/Pastor Vadym Tokarchuk - Chaplain of the Separate Unit of the 1st Ukrainian Battalion of Military Chaplains. Antonina Kozurak and Victoria Gubko - Volunteer fundraisers in Rakhiv, Ukraine. They raise funds for vehicles, tires, food, medicine, drone detectors and more.Gary "Scotty" Inglis - A Medical Platoon Sergeant from Scotland who serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He maintains a fleet of UK NHS-style ambulances in Eastern Ukraine.Christine Khariv - A talented volunteer fundraiser in Kyiv, Ukraine. She supplies multiple units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Starlink subscriptions, medicine, drone detectors and more.Father Volodymyr Prodanets - The НАЇДОК (nay-yi-dok) is a delicious meal-ready-to-eat prepared by the volunteer kitchen established in Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine.Victoria "Tori" John - A Rehabilitation Specialist in private practice in North Somerset, UK. Tori is actively seeking sponsors for her next trip to Ukraine, where she provides critical care.Darik Sergii Daragon - An experienced fundraiser operating in Kharkiv Oblast. He raises funds for medical supplies, food, drone detectors and more for Azov, Khartia and others.Ivan Berdar - Founded the NGO Volunteers of the Rakhiv District in the early days of the full-scale invasion in 2022. ----------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----------

Bert Watson is an American government-relations consultant, U.S. Navy veteran and long-standing advocate for stronger U.S.–Ukraine relations who has travelled to Ukraine repeatedly, including eight visits by June 2026. His perspective is unusual because it combines political communications, defence and energy experience with repeated exposure to Ukrainian military units, command posts, special-forces headquarters, hospitals, humanitarian organisations and defence innovators. ----------LINKS:https://www.thecipherbrief.com/experts/bert-watsonhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bertwatson/https://www.watsonandco.us/team----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga’s Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampiresThese heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine’s largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components.----------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----------

Silicon Bites Ep434 | 2026-10-26 | Musk is lying again. And has been lying about lying. Something he brazenly denied a week ago, he has now just as brazenly admitted to. That it was he who switched off Starlink in Ukraine with potentially lethal consequences. At the very least he has gifted a huge advantage to Russia and wrecked many missions Ukraine had planned to use the military version of Starlink, Starshield – which he ought not to be able to throttle – that is the Pentagon’s prerogative. But they deny making that decision. Now he expresses sympathy for the ‘Russian boys’, who he claims are coerced into war, but whom most reputable analysts accept largely accept contracts, a financial exchange that massively benefits them, or their families. ----------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:CNBC — After SpaceX restores high-speed service, Musk claims Ukraine violated Starlink agreement (24 Oct 2026)NBC News — Elon Musk says SpaceX closed Ukraine Starlink "loophole," while Kyiv denies breaching terms (25 Oct 2026)NPR — Musk says SpaceX did restrict Starlink, as Ukraine says the tech has been restored (24–25 Oct 2026)CBC News — Ukraine says its military did not violate Starlink terms, disputing Elon Musk claim (25 Oct 2026)Washington Post — Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield services resumed after days of disruptions (24 Oct 2026)Washington Times — Elon Musk claims Starlink restrictions in Ukraine closed a "loophole" against militarized use (25 Oct 2026)Mediaite — Elon Musk admits SpaceX purposely restricted Ukraine's Starlink access; embedded X post (24 Oct 2026)Kyiv Independent — Ukraine war latest: Starshield restored to normal speed; Ushakov on talks after 4 Nov (25 Oct 2026)The Moscow Times — Europe should be included in Ukraine peace discussions, Kremlin aide says (25 Oct 2026)Washington Times — Europe's growing support for Ukraine earns it larger role in upcoming negotiations, Kremlin says (Ushakov, Reuters translation) (25 Oct 2026)Reuters (via Investing.com) — Explainer: How Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy sites deepened the rift with Trump (25 Oct 2026)Reuters (via Yahoo) — Exclusive: US has for years asked Musk to alter Starlink service in Ukraine, Middle East (24–25 Oct 2026)NBC News — How Starlink slowdown hit Ukraine's front line soldiers pushing Russia back (Operation Vivaldi) (24 Oct 2026)CBC News — Carney says "direct casualties" are result of Ukraine's restricted access to Musk's Starshield (23–24 Oct 2026)Kyiv Independent — Exclusive: Ukraine fears Trump could grant Russia long-sought relief for fertilizer industry (24 Oct 2026)NBC News — Trump hopes to flatter Putin into negotiating on Ukraine, experts say (24 Oct 2026)----------