Silicon Curtain

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----------

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/----------

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----------

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----------

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/-----------