Silicon Curtain

2026-04-28 | UPDATES #186 | Tuapse burns – a third wave of strikes has reignited earlier fires and started new ones. Now the flames are burning out of control and may consume the whole plant. This is a major strategic and psychological blow for Putin and his war economy. In this episode – Budanov's doctrine and the end of the 'no cards' lie. April 27–28, 2026 — as Tuapse oil refinery and port burns for the third time in twelve days. It is just after 2 AM on the night of 27th to 28th April 2026, on the Black Sea coast. Above the Russian port city of Tuapse — population thirty-five thousand, one of the most strategically important oil export hubs Russia possesses — the air is filled with the sound of more than a dozen consecutive explosions.By dawn, 164 Russian firefighters with 46 fire appliances are battling what Krasnodar Krai's governor describes as "a major fire at the oil refinery." Residents of the streets nearest the burning Rosneft facility are being evacuated. School Number 6 in Tuapse has been opened as a temporary accommodation centre. Drone groups, eyewitnesses report, came in low across the sea before striking both the maritime terminal and the refinery itself.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------A REQUEST FOR HELP!I'm heading back to Kyiv next month, to film, do research and conduct interviews. The logistics and need for equipment and clothing are a little higher than for my previous trips. It will be cold, and may be dark also. If you can, please assist to ensure I can make this trip a success. My commitment to the audience of the channel, will be to bring back compelling interviews conducted in Ukraine, and to use the experience to improve the quality of the channel, it's insights and impact. Let Ukraine and democracy prevail! https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrashttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformationNONE OF THIS CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU!So what's next? We're going to Kyiv in April 2026 to film on the ground, and will record interviews with some huge guests. We'll be creating opportunities for new interviews, and to connect you with the reality of a European city under escalating winter attack, from an imperialist, genocidal power. PLEASE HELP ME ME TO GROW SILICON CURTAINWe are planning our events for 2026, and to do more and have a greater impact. After achieving more than 12 events in 2025, we will aim to double that! 24 events and interviews on the ground in Ukraine, to push back against weaponized information, toxic propaganda and corrosive disinformation. Please help us make it happen!----------

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.----------

Dr Jade McGlynn is a British researcher — Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, Senior Associate at CSIS in Washington DC, and head of the Ukraine and Russia programme at KCL's Centre for Statecraft and National Security. (Note: she uses she/her pronouns.) She holds a DPhil from Oxford, is a fluent Russian and Ukrainian speaker, and now splits her time between the UK and Ukraine — primarily Kharkiv and the eastern de-occupied territories. She is the author of Russia's War (Polity, 2023) and Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia (Bloomsbury, 2023). She is a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow whose six-year award funds research into Russia's use of history in strategic communications towards Africa, China, Germany and the Western Balkans.She is — uniquely among Western academic specialists on this war — explicitly non-neutral. As she states on her Substack: "I am not neutral in this war. I want Ukraine to win, and I want Russia to lose."----------BUY BRILLIANT UKRAINIAN CLOTHING:https://забой.укр/shop ----------LINKS:https://smalldeedsbigwar.substack.com/https://jademcglynn.com/https://twitter.com/DrJadeMcGlynnhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jade-mcglynn-341357209/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ceelbas/jade-mcglynn-oxfordhttps://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/dr-jade-mcglynnhttps://www.csis.org/people/jade-mcglynn----------BOOKS:Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia (2023)Russia's War (2023)Rethinking Period Boundaries: New Approaches to Continuity and Discontinuity in Modern European History and Culture (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----------DESCRIPTION:Dr. Jade McGlynn: Why the West Misreads Russia—Deterrence, Hybrid War, and Learning from UkraineJonathan interviews King’s College London War Studies research fellow Dr. Jade McGlynn about the war’s historical significance, Western “strategic blindness,” and how teleological assumptions about liberal democracy undermined deterrence toward a revisionist Russia. McGlynn argues Russia uses nuclear signaling as everyday coercion, exploits Western self-deterrence, and conducts long-running manipulation by targeting societal weak points, making resilience depend on trust and social cohesion. They discuss Russia’s expansionist pattern until meeting a firm frontier, the need to impose asymmetric costs in the hybrid domain, and the West’s performative messaging and slow procurement cycles versus Ukraine’s rapid wartime innovation. McGlynn warns Russia’s aims remain eliminating Ukrainian sovereignty and testing NATO if successful, stresses cooperation with Ukraine as Europe’s key security guarantee, and describes work to build an occupied-territories insights hub to better document occupation realities.----------

Silicon Bites Ep326 | 2026-04-26 | This is Trump’s real plan. Suck weapons out of Europe, leaving it vulnerable to Russia. If you were Vladimir Putin, and you could design the ideal American foreign policy — not overtly pro-Russian, but functionally pro-Russian — what would it look like? If Trump were a Russian asset, what would he be doing differently than he is already doing? Very little, I’d wager. He would start multiple wars that drain American weapons stockpiles and wreck their reputation internationally – among allies and adversaries. He would burn through Patriot interceptors — the one system that both Ukraine and NATO's eastern flank depend on to survive. He would delay weapons deliveries to the Baltic states and Scandinavia — the countries that border Russia. He would pressure European allies to send their own air defences to the Middle East, and maritime military resources, leaving the continent exposed. He would halt new military aid to Ukraine. He would lift sanctions on Russian oil. He would threaten to leave NATO and eject other members from the alliance. He would invite Putin to a summit at a luxury resort and try to normalise Russia’s genocidal regime on the world stage. He would punish any ally that refused to cooperate and stir up conflict around the world between allies and adversaries. He would do all of this while calling NATO "useless" and European allies "cowards." Confused and distracted, depleted and disoriented, Europe would be rendered incapable of defending itself when Russia does, finally, choose to strike. ----------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/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SOURCES:Reuters — "US to delay weapons deliveries to some European countries due to Iran war" (April 17, 2026)Military Times — "US to delay weapons deliveries to some European countries due to Iran war" (April 17, 2026)Kyiv Post — "White House Delays Weapons Deliveries to Europe as Iran War Drains Stockpiles" (April 17, 2026) Aerotime — "US warns European allies of weapons delivery delays as Iran war strains stocks" (April 17, 2026) i24News — "US delaying weapons deliveries to Europe as Iran war strains stockpiles" (April 17, 2026) European Union Institute for Security Studies — "Assessing the damage: What the Iran war really means for Europe's defence" (March 2, 2026)Bloomberg — "Europe Blocks US Military Access Over Trump's Iran War, Straining NATO Ties" (March 31, 2026)----------

2026-04-24 | UPDATES #182 | Just stop Russian oil. Tuapse is burning, black rain is falling like some biblical end-times plague, and Ukraine is enforcing the sanctions against Russia oil that Trump won't.It is raining oil in Tuapse. Not metaphorically. Literally. Oily black droplets falling from the sky, coating cars, streets, houses, playgrounds, and beaches. Soot-blackened puddles forming on every surface. Birds found on the shoreline covered in crude. Schools and kindergartens closed. A seven-square-kilometre oil slick spreading across the Black Sea. A smoke plume visible from space, stretching more than three hundred kilometres inland to the city of Stavropol. And in the middle of it all, a Russian woman on Instagram, sobbing: "I desperately wanted to live by the sea with my child. Now the sea is full of heating oil. What are we supposed to do here?"----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------A REQUEST FOR HELP!I'm heading back to Kyiv next month, to film, do research and conduct interviews. The logistics and need for equipment and clothing are a little higher than for my previous trips. It will be cold, and may be dark also. If you can, please assist to ensure I can make this trip a success. My commitment to the audience of the channel, will be to bring back compelling interviews conducted in Ukraine, and to use the experience to improve the quality of the channel, it's insights and impact. Let Ukraine and democracy prevail! https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrashttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformationNONE OF THIS CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU!So what's next? We're going to Kyiv in April 2026 to film on the ground, and will record interviews with some huge guests. We'll be creating opportunities for new interviews, and to connect you with the reality of a European city under escalating winter attack, from an imperialist, genocidal power. PLEASE HELP ME ME TO GROW SILICON CURTAINWe are planning our events for 2026, and to do more and have a greater impact. After achieving more than 12 events in 2025, we will aim to double that! 24 events and interviews on the ground in Ukraine, to push back against weaponized information, toxic propaganda and corrosive disinformation. Please help us make it happen!----------SOURCES: Ukrainska Pravda — "Ukraine confirms repeat strike on Russia's Tuapse oil refinery" (April 20, 2026) Militarnyi — "Tuapse Oil Refinery Hit by Ukrainian Drone Strike, Large Fire Reported" (April 20, 2026) The Moscow Times — "Ukrainian Drone Attack on Tuapse Port Kills 1" (April 20, 2026)Al Jazeera — "Fires ignited by Ukrainian drones rage at Russian oil refinery" (April 22, 2026)Bloomberg — "Toxic Rain Falls on Russia's Tuapse City in Oil Facility Blaze" (April 23, 2026)Kyiv Independent — "'A nightmare' — Russians in Tuapse in disbelief after Ukrainian drones bring the war home" (April 23, 2026) HotAir — "Ukrainian Attack on Russian Oil Refinery Blankets Town in 'Black Rain'" (April 23, 2026) NV Ukraine (English) — "Drone attack on Tuapse oil refinery — smoke from fire reaches Stavropol" (April 21, 2026) PJ Media — "In This Russian City, It's Literally Raining Oil" (April 23, 2026) Nashaniva — "Ecological catastrophe in the Russian resort of Tuapse" (April 23, 2026)EADaily — "The third day in Tuapse extinguish the oil terminal: the beach of the city has darkened" (April 22, 2026) Censor.NET — "'Black rain' and water mixed with oil soot: fire at Tuapse refinery continues" (April 22, 2026) PRM.UA — "'Oil rain' fell after strikes on Tuapse refinery" (April 21, 2026) ----------