Silicon Bites Ep283 | 2026-01-08 | The tanker seizure drama has apparently opened the flood gates of Z-patriots rage and tears. They bemoan the humiliation of their navy and demi-god Tsar, the weakness of the Russian navy, and the lack of counter response, and above all the shifting perception that Russia will not be carving up this world with Trump, as they had thought, but that he may be carving slices off their power, influence and geopolitical reach. This is genuine panic and rage by Russia’s nationalist imperialists, and it’s delicious to behold. Let’s unpack it.If you want a snapshot of Russia’s decline into strategic humiliation, you could look at the battlefield map in Donbas, but for a fresher dose of prime humiliation, look at the loss of their tanker this week to US forces, that conducted a joint UK-US operation. Because this week, the United States — backed operationally by the United Kingdom — ran down a sanctions-busting “grey fleet” vessel that literally tried to cosplay sovereignty mid-flight from Venezuela, changing identity, switching flags, painting a Russian tricolor on the hull while being pursued. None if that helped, and it was nonetheless seized.----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------SOURCES:Michael Naki - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEs10co9JVI&t=1326sUK Ministry of Defence press release (Jan 7, 2026): operational support details + Healey quotes (GOV.UK)Reuters exclusive (Jan 7, 2026): timeline, seizure near Iceland, submarine shadowing, no confrontation, second tanker (Reuters)Financial Times (Jan 8, 2026): legal/flagging dispute framing, “ghost fleet” context TIME (Jan 8, 2026): UK support overview, RAF + RFA Tideforce reference, contextThe Wall Street Journal (Jan 7, 2026): shadow fleet scale + escort reporting The Times (Jan 8, 2026): additional operational colour (attributed) The Guardian (Jan 7, 2026): additional reporting, context and reactions (used cautiously) ----------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----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

2026-01-08 | UPDATES #093 | Leonid Ivashov “goes off script” in late 2025 — not a dissident or part of the systemic opposition, but a regime insider, offering an elite-military critique of the Ukraine war and Putin’s imperial project. His judgement is not positive and is not complimentary. The “1,400 days” blast: a system general describes strategic failure and state rotThis is something rare in Putin’s Russia: a senior, establishment-bred military voice penned a fierce critique of Putin’s war and its management that is being circulated — Leonid Ivashov is saying the quiet part out loud. This normally means tea, window or altitude cancer. Late in December, a set of quotes attributed to retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov has been widely reposted — especially via X and secondary reposts — framed as his assessment after roughly 1,400 days of Russia’s full-scale war. One widely shared compilation was reposted on Saturday, 27 December 2025.----------SOURCES: https://diplomatizzando.blogspot.com/2025/12/general-leonid-ivashov-strongly.htmlhttps://art-of-arts.livejournal.com/1126865.htmlhttps://svpressa.ru/politic/article/456495/https://news.rambler.ru/army/51098930-leonid-ivashov-sdelayte-tak-chtoby-lyudi-perestali-gibnut-perestali-stradat/ (republishing Svobodnaya Pressa, 15 July 2023)https://cepa.org/article/russia-and-the-rocketmen/https://altanalyses.org/en/2022/02/07/general-leonid-ivashovs-draft-appeal-is-an-all-out-attack-on-vladimir-putin/https://izborsk-club.ru/author/ivashovhttps://izborsk-club.ru/22165https://izborsk-club.ru/15124----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------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----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

2025-12-31 | UPDATES #085 | Ukraine put its hand on the light switch of Russia’s imperial capital region — and flicked it. Not metaphorically. Literally. The lights went out for a substantial number of people in Moscow. Ahead of the most important and symbolic holiday or the year, New Year’s evening.On December 30, 2025, parts of Moscow Oblast — specifically Ramenskoye, Zhukovsky, and Lytkarino — reported power outages, with residents posting videos of darkened districts and street lighting gone. Meduza reported that an “automatic shutdown” occurred at a high-voltage substation, with officials and local reporting also describing a cable or equipment fire; power was partially restored within hours. (Meduza)----------SOURCES: Meduza — “Three cities of Moscow Oblast partially left without electricity” (Dec 30, 2025)https://meduza.io/news/2025/12/30/tri-goroda-moskovskoy-oblasti-chastichno-ostalis-bez-elektrichestvaReuters — “Ukraine targets Moscow with drones, Russia says” (Dec 30, 2025)https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-targets-moscow-with-drones-russia-says-2025-12-30/RBC (???) — “Drones downed on approach to Moscow increased to five” (Dec 30, 2025)https://www.rbc.ru/politics/30/12/2025/695410fb9a79477082f09d87The Moscow Times — “Ukrainian Drones Strike Energy Sites and Homes Across Russia, Officials Say” (Dec 31, 2025)https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/31/ukrainian-drones-strike-energy-sites-and-homes-across-russia-officials-say-a91592Reuters — “Ukrainians withstand days-long power cuts in crowded ‘resilience’ shelters” (Dec 30, 2025)https://www.reuters.com/world/ukrainians-withstand-days-long-power-cuts-crowded-resilence-shelters-2025-12-30/Reuters — “Russian drones, missiles pound Ukraine ahead of Zelenskiy-Trump meeting” (Dec 27, 2025)https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-drones-missiles-pound-ukraine-before-zelenskiy-trump-meeting-2025-12-27/----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------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----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Silicon Bites Ep282 | 2026-01-07 | The invasion of Venezuela was widely expected and predicted. It was no less shocking for all that, but perhaps what we did not foresee, is that it would embroil the Russian shadow fleet in a confrontation with US forces in its self-declared hemisphere of sovereign influence. A rusting shadow fleet tanker in the North Atlantic — being shadowed by a Russian submarine, was boarded by US forces anyway. In the past 24 hours, the United States seized the oil tanker now known as Marinera, formerly Bella-1, after what Reuters describes as a two-week pursuit across the Atlantic — part of Washington’s pressure campaign to choke off sanctions-evasion oil flows linked to Venezuela. (Reuters)----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------SOURCES:Reuters (Jan 7, 2026) — “Exclusive: US seizes Venezuela-linked, Russian-flagged oil tanker after weeks-long pursuit”https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-seizing-venezuela-linked-oil-tanker-after-weeks-long-pursuit-2026-01-07/Reuters (Jan 7, 2026) — “UK supported US mission to seize Russian-flagged oil tanker, MoD says”https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/uk-supported-us-mission-seize-russian-oil-tanker-mod-says-2026-01-07/Reuters (Jan 7, 2026) — “US seizes Russian-flagged tanker tied to Venezuela as Trump widens oil push”https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-venezuela-oil-deal-angers-china-pushes-prices-down-2026-01-07/ABC News (Jan 7, 2026) — “US seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker in North Atlantic and 2nd tanker”https://abcnews.go.com/International/us-seizes-russian-flagged-oil-tanker-north-atlantic/story?id=128976500The Guardian (Jan 7, 2026) — “UK helped US seize Russian-flagged tanker, defence ministry says”https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/07/uk-helped-us-seize-russian-flagged-tanker-defence-ministry-saysBloomberg (Jan 6, 2026) — “Chevron Lines Up 11 Oil Ships as Venezuela’s Dark Fleet Vanishes”https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-06/chevron-lines-up-11-oil-ships-as-venezuela-s-dark-fleet-vanishes----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

2026-01-07 | UPDATES #091 | “Recommendations drive a significant amount of the overall viewership on YouTube, even more than channel subscriptions or search.” That’s according to YouTube’s own engineers, who stress just how central this machinery is to what gets seen, when and by whom. It’s clearly laid out on a transparency post on the YouTube blog site. (blog.youtube) But I can see it clearly in the stats of my two channels as well, Silicon Curtain and Silicon Wafers. What has resonance in the algorithm gets shown more, and videos that don’t fall into a vacuum of obscurity, getting low view counts, fewer comments, no revenue and few subscribers.----------SOURCES: YouTube Help Center — “YouTube's Recommendation System” (no date shown)https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/16533387?hl=enYouTube Blog — “On YouTube’s recommendation system” (15 Sep 2021)https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/on-youtubes-recommendation-system/YouTube Help Center — “How YouTube recommendations work” (no date shown)https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/16089387?hl=enKnight First Amendment Institute (with paper on PMC / OUP) — Engagement ranking amplifies divisive content (2023/2024–2025 publication trail)https://knightcolumbia.org/content/engagement-user-satisfaction-and-the-amplification-of-divisive-content-on-social-mediahttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11894805/Yale News — “Likes” and “shares” teach people to express more outrage online (13 Aug 2021)https://news.yale.edu/2021/08/13/likes-and-shares-teach-people-express-more-outrage-onlineEuropean Commission (CORDIS) — “Social media making us angrier, study reveals” (2021)https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/430608-trending-science-social-media-making-us-angrier-study-revealsU.S. Surgeon General — “Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory” (2023)https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdfAP News — Oxford Word of the Year: “rage bait” (2025)https://apnews.com/article/oxford-word-rage-bait-biohack-aura-farming-205cad01227a75198aaebdea02f6409bThe Guardian — Fake anti-Labour YouTube videos viewed 1.2bn times (13 Dec 2025)https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/13/fake-anti-labour-video-billion-views-youtube-2025The Guardian — X “For You” feed experiment and polarization (27 Nov 2025)https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/27/partisan-x-posts-increase-political-polarisation-among-users-social-media-researchInterface (EU policy) — “Auditing Recommender Systems” (DSA context)https://www.interface-eu.org/publications/auditing-recommender-systems----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Silicon Bites Ep281 | 2025-12-31 | “Putin Wants Ukraine to Succeed?” May be the most misguided, misinformed, and perverse phrase ever uttered by an American president, and it must have grated on Zelenskyy’s ears, as he heard it in real-time, yet had to retain some sense of composure. Maybe he heard this phrase as being so at variance with reality, so contrary to history and any factual analysis, that it hit him as a pure absurdity, that could be dismissed out of hand. We just don’t know.We could dismiss the phrase too, but unfortunately, I think it is indicative of something dark, which could get considerably darker in 2026 – and this is the strong narrative alignment between the US president and Russia stated objectives and ambitions. Strategic intent, and action may well follow in the wake of this narrative alignment, this convergence of worldview and transactional interests, to create substantial problems for Ukraine, in its resistance to Russian aggression in 2026, and even to the democratic world. ----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------SOURCES:Reuters (Dec 28, 2025): Trump says US and Ukraine ‘a lot closer’ on peace deal but thorny issues remainhttps://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-meet-trump-florida-talks-ukraine-peace-plan-2025-12-28/Reuters (Dec 30, 2025): Zelenskiy discusses US troop presence in Ukraine with Trumphttps://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/zelenskiy-discusses-us-troop-presence-ukraine-with-trump-2025-12-30/Reuters (Dec 28, 2025): Trump says he had “very productive” call with Putin ahead of Zelenskiy meetinghttps://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-had-very-productive-call-with-putin-ahead-zelenskiy-meeting-2025-12-28/ABC News (Dec 28, 2025): Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘maybe very close’ after Zelenskyy meetinghttps://abcnews.go.com/Politics/volodymyr-zelenskyy-arrives-mar-lago-peace-talks-president/story?id=128736611Ukrainska Pravda (Dec 29, 2025): Trump says Putin claims he “wants to see Ukraine succeed”https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/12/29/8013774/----------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----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

2026-01-04 | UPDATES #088 | Let’s carve up the world. It’s January 3rd, 2026, and the new year has arrived with the subtlety of guided bomb. In this episode we ask – Caracas today, possibly Taiwan, The Baltics and Greenland tomorrow? The new world disorder didn’t wait for Christmas trees and lights to be taken down – it’s impatient to assert its power and influence and rewire the world. Overnight, explosions hit Caracas. Power outages. Panic. And then the headlines that we had half expected, but which still feel surreal: The U.S. has invaded Venezuela full-scale, and President Trump claims President Nicolás Maduro — and his wife, Cilia Flores — were captured and flown out of the country. It’s being during touted as a “large scale strike” but seems to be so much more than that. (The Washington Post)----------SOURCES: Reuters (Jan. 3, 2026) — U.S. strikes / Trump claim / Venezuela response. Associated Press (Jan. 3, 2026) — strikes, capture claim, legal reservations. Washington Post (Jan. 3, 2026) — live updates, official U.S. response status. The Guardian (Jan. 2–3, 2026) — Maduro interview; strike/capture reporting. Time (Jan. 3, 2026) — escalation context; casualty figure in prior strikes. CBS News (Jan. 3, 2026) — Petro quote calling for UN meeting. The Moscow Times (Jan. 3, 2026) — Russia MFA condemnation (“armed aggression”). Kyiv Independent (Jan. 3, 2026) — recap and framing for Eastern Europe audience. ----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------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----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

2026-01-05 | UPDATES #089 | Odesa goes dark: Russia’s winter energy war hits Ukraine’s Black Sea lifeline Odesa. It is of course a deliberate use of terror and a war crime, but a core part of Russia’s attritional and psychological strategy. Odesa is a frontline city without a frontline. In this part of Ukraine, it’s a war of transformers, not of artillery, and this is the deliberate logic of an aggressor that cannot make significant gains on the battlefield, so tries to win advantages by freezing people in the winter darkness.Russia’s sustained targeting of Ukrainian energy infrastructure is hammering cities across the country this winter, but Odesa may be taking some of the worst hits. Over the New Year period, Odesa and the surrounding region were hit by renewed drone attacks that struck not only residential buildings but also energy and logistics infrastructure. Reuters reported regional authorities saying: “Strike drones attacked residential, logistics and energy infrastructure in our region.”----------SOURCES: Kyiv Independent (Dec 31, 2025) — “'Russia is targeting civilians' … Odesa … outages reported”https://kyivindependent.com/russia-is-targeting-civilians-russian-drones-strike-residential-building-in-odesa-outages-reported/Reuters (Dec 31, 2025) — “Four injured, including three children in Russian attack on Odesa, Ukraine says” https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/four-injured-including-three-children-russian-attack-odesa-ukraine-says-2025-12-31/Reuters (Jan 1, 2026) — “Ukraine condemns Russian new year drone attack on power infrastructure” https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraine-condemns-russian-new-year-drone-attack-power-infrastructure-2026-01-01/Ukrinform (Jan 1, 2026) — “Russian attacks cause new power outages in three regions” (Ukrenergo statement) https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4075663-russian-attacks-cause-new-power-outages-in-three-regions.htmlUNN (Jan 5, 2026) — “Ukrainians face power outages on January 6” (Ukrenergo referenced)https://unn.ua/en/news/ukrainians-face-power-outages-on-january-6Ukrainska Pravda (Dec 31, 2025) — “Energy workers report significant power outages…” (Ukrenergo quotes) https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/12/31/8014130/----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Oleksandr Mykhed is a Ukrainian writer. Until March 2022, he lived in Kyiv; he is now enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is the author of nine books; selected essays and excerpts from his books have been translated into ten languages. He has participated in literary residencies in Finland, Latvia, Iceland, the USA and France, and a virtual residency at Oxford University. He has written for publications including The Financial Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and The Guardian, and has appeared as a guest on CNN and NPR. He is a member of PEN Ukraine, and anyone who has heard him speak, such as at the event in Waterstones in London with Luke Harding, will know how compelling he is.----------LINKS:https://x.com/mykhed_o https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/303637/oleksandr-mykhedhttps://pen.org.ua/en/autors/myhed-oleksandr ARTICLES:https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jun/30/the-language-of-war-by-oleksandr-mykhed-review-ukraine-russia-a-painful-piece-of-history https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqWDfx4XtRY ----------BOOKS: Artur Dron' - We Were Here (2024)Kostiantyn Zorkin - In the Name of the City (2024)Kostiantyn Zorkin - Codex (Graphic novel in progress)FILMS:Pavlo Ostrikov - U Are the Universe (2024)Anton Ptushkin - Antarctica (2025) Mstyslav Chernov - 2000 Meters to Andriivka (2024)ARTISTS:Kostiantyn Zorkin----------The Steel Porcupine https://www.thesteelporcupine.com/I’m proud to say that this series of ‘Ukrainian advent’ interviews is supported by The Steel Porcupine – a unique and powerful film about a country that refuses to lie down, a people who turned themselves into a fortress of needles when Russian tanks rolled in. The Steel Porcupine is an unforgettable cinematic experience that exposes Russia's campaign of extermination in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian people's spirit to resist and prevail. It follows soldiers, volunteers and people who decided that survival meant resistance, not submission.Created by the makers of the acclaimed To the Zero Line, this is another film about humanity, that clearly states there is no such thing as neutrality when war crimes are being committed systematically by Russia, and on a scale in Europe only comparable to World War Two. Set to a haunting soundtrack featuring music by Philip Glass, and blending rare archival footage with original material, it is an impactful work of art and storytelling, as well as being informative.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------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 Przemyślhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/----------

Anders Puck Nielsen is a military analyst and influential YouTuber based in Denmark. He specialises in naval warfare and strategy; in today’s video we are going to be talking about the Ukrainian withdrawal from Kursk, the state of NATO and repetition of Kremlin narratives coming from the White House and Trump's inner circle. ----------LINKS:https://www.logicofwar.com/https://www.youtube.com/@anderspuck https://twitter.com/anderspuckhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/anderspucknielsen/https://apnielsen.info/en/frontpage/----------Georgijs Ivanovs started the Ukraine Matters channel in 2007, and it has garners 11.5 m views. He started the channel to explain the situation surrounding the war in Ukraine in simple terms. Like myself, he is not Ukrainian, nor is he a military expert. But he has been to Ukraine many times and seen it almost fully (except for Odesa region). He has a lot of good friends in Ukraine, and in fact his wife is Ukrainian, and so feels extremely connected to the invasion that scaled up in February 2022.----------LINKS: @UkraineMatters  ----------The Steel Porcupine https://www.thesteelporcupine.com/I’m proud to say that this series of ‘Ukrainian advent’ interviews is supported by The Steel Porcupine – a unique and powerful film about a country that refuses to lie down, a people who turned themselves into a fortress of needles when Russian tanks rolled in. The Steel Porcupine is an unforgettable cinematic experience that exposes Russia's campaign of extermination in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian people's spirit to resist and prevail. It follows soldiers, volunteers and people who decided that survival meant resistance, not submission.Created by the makers of the acclaimed To the Zero Line, this is another film about humanity, that clearly states there is no such thing as neutrality when war crimes are being committed systematically by Russia, and on a scale in Europe only comparable to World War Two. Set to a haunting soundtrack featuring music by Philip Glass, and blending rare archival footage with original material, it is an impactful work of art and storytelling, as well as being informative.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------DESCRIPTION:In this episode hosted from a secure location in Copenhagen, guests Anders Puck Nielsen & Georgijs Ivanovs join to discuss a broad array of topics focused on the geopolitical tensions surrounding the United States, Ukraine, and Russia. The discussion begins with an analysis of former US President Trump's comments on Russia and Ukraine, and segues into more complex topics like Russia's strategic aims, potential provocations by Putin, and the implications of Zelenskyy's trip to Washington. Also covered are the dynamics of NATO and US-European relations, military preparedness, and the technological advancements driven by the war in Ukraine. The episode touches on broader themes such as the ideological alignment between Trump and Putin, the existential risks facing Europe, and Russia's evolving military tactics and internal repressiveness. The conversation wraps up with predictions and strategic considerations for 2026, emphasizing continued support for Ukraine and the importance of understanding global power shifts.----------