Silicon Curtain

Ed Bogan is a retired senior CIA Operations Officer and former two-time Chief of Station with 24 years of experience in intelligence operations across South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. He served repeatedly in war and conflict zones, including as Chief of Base and in acting chief roles, and later became a public commentator on counter-terrorism, Russian disinformation, intelligence operations and the war in Ukraine.----------LINKS:https://www.thecipherbrief.com/experts/edward-boganhttps://www.thecipherbrief.com/podcasts/around-the-world-with-former-cia-officer-edward-boganhttps://sashaingber.substack.com/p/whats-next-for-ukraine-with-former----------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 Ep350 | 2026-06-11 | BRITAIN UNDEFENDED: John Healey Just Resigned as Defence Secretary Because Starmer and Reeves Refused to Fund the Defence of the United Kingdom — and the Most Dangerous Threat Environment Since the 1930s Has Just Lost Its Most Senior British Champion.Breaking: 11 June 2026 — Healey Quits Over the Defence Investment Plan, the £13 Billion Gap Between What Defence Officials Said the Country Needs and What the Treasury Was Willing to Offer, and the Question Every Allied Capital Is Now Asking — Who, in London, Is Now in Charge of Defending Britain?John Healey — Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom since 5 July 2024, Member of Parliament for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough since 1997, former shadow defence secretary, and the man Keir Starmer brought into government to anchor Britain's defence policy in the most dangerous decade since the 1930s — resigned.----------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 LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur events of the first half of the year in Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. Any support you can provide for the fundraising campaign would be gratefully appreciated. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SOURCES:CNN — "John Healey: UK defense secretary resigns over military spending, in fresh blow to Keir Starmer" (11 June 2026) The National — "Defence Secretary John Healey resigns over investment plan that makes UK 'less safe'" (11 June 2026) Wikipedia — "John Healey" — Defence Secretary since 5 July 2024; MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough since 1997 (previously Wentworth/Wentworth and Dearne); Christ's College Cambridge; born 13 February 1960 in Wakefield; junior ministerial positions under Blair and Brown 2001-2010; shadow defence secretary 2020-2024BBC News Live coverage — "Defence Secretary John Healey delivers SDR statement" (2 June 2025) CBS News — "Citing Russia threat, U.K. leader announces military spending boost, including new nuclear-powered submarines" (2 June 2025)NPR — "Why the U.K. prime minister is calling for a bigger military to face Russia" (4 June 2025)The Independent (US/AOL syndication) — "Starmer warned UK faces '1936 moment' as ex-defence chiefs urge spending boost" — Telegraph open letter from three former defence secretaries, retired senior military chiefs, former MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove; "hollowed out by years of chronic underfunding"; call for 5% of GDP defence spending; "1936 moment" framing of global conflict likelihood; "Our actions fall dangerously short of matching this rhetoric and of meeting our treaty obligations" verbatimIISS Military Balance 2025 (via Bloomberg/Yahoo) — "UK Unable to Defend Against Ballistic Missile Attack, IISS Warns" (February 2025) AP via Yahoo — "UK to raise defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, Starmer says 2 days before Trump meeting" (February 2025) Reuters — "Britain needs to step up defence spending faster, PM Starmer says" (February 2026)Fox News — "'Trump effect' on display as UK's Starmer boosts defense spending on eve of US visit" (February 2025) ----------

Illya Sekirin is a Ukrainian-born, naturalised Canadian volunteer, drone-warfare practitioner and author of Rise of the Machines: Drone Warfare in the Russia–Ukraine War – Tactics, Operations, Strategy. He volunteered to fight for Ukraine in March 2022, trained as a drone operator, served on the front line, worked as a translator and researcher for the Ukrainian General Staff, and later became an unofficial adviser to members of Ukraine’s Stavka, the high-command body chaired by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Helion/Casemate also states that Sekirin authored a paper that helped inform Zelenskyy’s decision to create Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces as a separate branch. ----------LINKS:https://www.helion.co.uk/people/illya-sekirin.phphttps://soldier.army.mod.uk/issues/jan-26/update/ukraine-drone-pilotBOOK:Rise of the Machines: Drone Warfare in the Russia-Ukraine War – Tactics, Operations, StrategyPublication: 2026https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/rise-of-the-machines-drone-warfare-in-the-russia-ukraine-war---tactics-operations-strategy.phphttps://www.amazon.com/Rise-Machines-Russia-Ukraine-Operations-Strategy/dp/1804519707----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------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.----------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----------

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 project director in the Policy Planning Unit. He is author of Tectonic Politics: Global Political Risk in an Age of Transformation (Brookings, 2019).----------LINKS:https://twitter.com/Nigelgd1https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigel-gould-davies-5347b51a?originalSubdomain=ukhttps://www.iiss.org/people/russia-and-eurasia/dr-nigel-gould-davies/https://gsas.harvard.edu/person/nigel-gould-daviesBOOKS:Tectonic Politics: Global Political Risk in an Age of Transformation (2019)https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tectonic-Politics-Insights-Critical-International/dp/0815737130https://www.chathamhouse.org/2019/05/tectonic-politics-global-political-risk-age-transformationARTICLES:https://www.iiss.org/research-paper/2026/05/the-coming-crisis-in-russias-political-economy/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00396338.2024.2332057https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/09/biden-putin-ukraine-appeasement-deterrence-donbass/----------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 Ep349 | 2026-06-10 | A Russian general was deleted, via a car-bomb 400 metres from where another Russian general was eliminated last April. Same suburb. Same pattern. Same message. There is nowhere to hide for Russian war criminals. 9 June 2026 — Damir Davydov, Head of the Missile and Artillery Ammunition Supply Department of the GRAU, Killed by a BMW X3 Bomb in the Aviatorov Microdistrict of Balashikha at 5:30 a.m. — the fourth senior Russian military officer assassinated on Russian soil in eighteen months. ----------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 LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur events of the first half of the year in Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. Any support you can provide for the fundraising campaign would be gratefully appreciated. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SOURCES:Meduza — "A year after a Russian general was assassinated in a car bombing outside Moscow, another general is reportedly dead in the same city — in another car bombing" (9 June 2026)UNN (Ukrainian News Network) — "Car explodes in Moscow region – top Russian Ministry of Defense officer killed" (9 June 2026) UA.News — "A topographic officer killed in an explosion in the Moscow region" (9 June 2026) UNITED24 Media — "Car Explodes Near Moscow in Military District Where Russian General May Have Been Killed" (9 June 2026) RBC-Ukraine — "Russian colonel reportedly killed in car blast near Moscow" (9 June 2026) News.az / UA News — "High-ranking Russian military officer killed in Moscow car bombing" (9 June 2026) Nasha Niva — "High-ranking military officer dies in car explosion in Balashikha near Moscow" (9 June 2026) Daily Kos (citizen journalism via Anton Gerashchenko / ASTRA / MAKS 26 Bluesky sourcing) PBS NewsHour / AP — "Car bomb kills Russian general in Moscow" (22 December 2025) Time magazine — "Russian General Killed in Moscow Car Bomb Attack" (December 2025)BBC News — "Russia detains suspect in car bomb attack that killed general" (April 2025) RFE/RL via Global Security archive — "Russian General Killed In Car Bombing Near Moscow" (25 April 2025) Wikipedia — "Yaroslav Moskalik" — Born 22 August 1966, Angren, Uzbek SSR; died 25 April 2025, Balashikha; rank Lieutenant General; Deputy Chief, Main Operational Directorate of General Staff; killed by remotely-detonated IED in parked car around 10:40 local time----------