Edition No99 | 20-02-2025 - Bad information. Bad preparation. Bad intent. Not grounded or limited by values.o We have been deceived and swindled. Trade imbalance. Bad deals. o Everything that is the US’s is by extension mine. All the slights mine too. o Relationships are all transactional, monetary in nature, and short-term. o See alliances through the lens of immediate quid pro quo.o ‘Bad deals made by Biden’ need to be repaid and allies squeezed for money. - Two points of view on the war: o Principled defense of democracy and sovereignty, selfless and values ledo Ukraine is guilty of not capitulating and resisting absorption by Russia World - Geopolitical points of view:o West: struggle of authoritarianism against democracy against Axis of Evil. o US: If you can’t beat them, collude with them. Peel Russia away from China. o Russia: divide US from West. Make complicit in criminality. Betray and destroy.o China: let West and Russia attrit themselves, then define new global order. - The path of least resistance – Trump sees the fall of Ukraine as the fastest solution. o The Afghan strategy part 2 – but this time own defeat via lies and gaslightingo Assumptions behind this strategy – Russian disinformation narratives injected. o Russia is strong and Ukraine is weak; Europe is decadent and will do nothing. o Hear words “Ukraine shouldn’t have started the war / refused to negotiate.”o It’s the failure to submit to force – to violence to see the world transaction-ally. o What are you dying for, when you could make money? No values. No empathy. o No mention of holding elections in Russia, run by same dictator 25 years.o No mentioned of Russian crimes, violence, illegality and interference. ----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------LINKS:https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/trump-and-putin-aligning-over-ukrainian ----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN 10 Events in 10 months - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv 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 10 events in 10 months (at a minimum). We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. 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----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Timothy Ash, who has been professional economist for more than 30 years, with two thirds of that in the banking industry. Timothy’s specialism is emerging European economics, and he writes and blogs extensively on economic challenges for leading publications such as the Kyiv Post, Atlantic Council, the Financial Times, and the United Business Journal. He is also an Associate Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House and has advised various governments on Ukraine-Russia policy and specifically on the impact of sanctions.----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN 10 Events in 10 months - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv 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 10 events in 10 months (at a minimum). We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. 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----------LINKS:https://twitter.com/tasheconhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-ash-83a87158/https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/timothy-ashhttps://cepa.org/author/timothy-ash/----------ARTICLES:https://timothyash.substack.com/ https://kyivindependent.com/author/timothy-ash/----------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.org----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqmLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Edition No98 | 18-02-2025 - After the meeting between Russia and the US, questions but with few answers. QUESTION: Can you take us a little bit in the room today? What was the interaction like? How would you characterize the discussions? MR WITKOFF: It was positive, upbeat, constructive, everybody there to get to the right outcome, solution based. We discussed it afterwards. We couldn’t have imagined a better result after this session. It was very, very solid.Matthew Miller @matthewamillerNegotiating an end to a war is easy if your plan is to surrender.John Sipher @johnsipher.bsky.socialRussia is at its weakest in years. Putin is in a precarious situation. They are attacking western interests around the world and murdering Europeans. Why is Rubio bending a knee and showing weakness?David Frum @davidfrumWhen FDR struck an over-the-heads-of-eastern-Europe deal at Yalta in Feb 1945, Stalin had 300+ divisions in the field vs Nazi Germany. The impending unilateral Trump sellout of Ukraine occurs when Putin is battered and almost broke.¬ Garry Kasparov @Kasparov63This looks more like Molotov-Ribbentrop than Yalta. It’s business, dividing up Ukraine for profit. And they will try and may succeed unless Europe acts quickly instead of just talks.----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN 10 Events in 10 months - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv 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 10 events in 10 months (at a minimum). We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. 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----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Ben Hodges is a retired United States Army officer, who became commander of United States Army Europe in November 2014, and held that position for three years until retiring from the United States Army in January 2018. Until recently he was the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies, at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, specialising in NATO, Transatlantic relationship and international security. ----------Over the past week, Russia sent 1,220 glide bombs, 40 missiles and more than 850 drones into Ukraine, including a couple of high explosive drones that hit the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. The idea that Putin wants peace is a dangerous delusion. Yet at the Munich Security conference last week several things came into sharp focus. The Trump administration seems desperate to secure peace and is prepared to grant any concession to get Putin to simply agree to negotiations. The victim of the war, Ukraine, and its largest supporter in monetary terms, Europe, are being cut out of the negotiation process. Ukraine is denied the security of NATO membership. Sanctions against Russia may be eased, and war criminal Putin normalised on the world stage. Moreover, the US under Trump is prepared to extort and blackmail victims of war and terror such as Ukraine, to strip its mineral resources, deny its agency and negate its sovereign borders. Europe is being told it’s on its own, with the implication it comes under Russia’s Eurasian imperial sphere of influence. In this episode we ask, how much worse can the situation get, and what does Putin want us to feel at this point of inflection? ----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN 10 Events in 10 months - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv 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 10 events in 10 months (at a minimum). We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. 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----------CHAPTERS00:03:41 That was that was a gloomy intro, even for you, but we're at a critical juncture.00:04:47 3 things come to mind immediately: one, the importance of allies and partners.00:06:10 The Russians clearly have no interest in actually negotiating with Ukraine.00:08:33 Ditching Europe would be a massive, catastrophic, self-inflicted wound for US.00:13:13 French president hosting an emergency summit of European leaders in Paris.00:16:13 It's to our detriment, that article 5 of the Washington Treaty is even a question.00:21:10 Dayton accord - You had a different structure, mission, rules of engagement.00:27:57 I don't know if it's desperation. The president would like to get this peace done.00:32:20 That's not going to cause a Russian tank regiment to turn around and go back.00:35:26 If Europeans feel uneasy about it, roll your sleeves up and do something.00:40:16 I've got nothing against Russians retreating themselves into a total collapse.00:42:17 This is a call for leaders, elected officials, to talk to fellow citizens as adults.----------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/----------

Joe Lindsley is a traveller and a writer, and American reporting on Chicago's WGN Radio from Ukraine each and every weekday of Russia's full-scale war. He once was protégé to Fox News founder Roger Ailes, but Lindsley escaped that frenzied world where power mattered more than truth. He came to Lviv for a Ukrainian Catholic University journalism conference on Information Overload, AI, and Responsibility. Then the Coronavirus shut down world travel, and he stayed to build a better vision for the media industry.OTHER VIDEOS: 1. https://youtu.be/DM42QAF2ia4 (07-Nov-23)2. https://youtu.be/KAGt83FzXmI (26-Jan-24)3. https://youtu.be/AlD3HUTQAag (20-Feb-24)4. https://youtu.be/w8Y1XLuhB9Q (04-Apr-24)5. https://youtu.be/eA6DI5bwrq8 (05-Jun-24)6. https://youtu.be/VmQE32SHg88 (14-Nov-24)7. https://youtu.be/_0YldajNrWg (29-Jan-25)8. https://youtu.be/BcUHYVNZ5Ck (10-Feb-25)----------LINKS:https://www.ukrainianfreedomnews.com/donation/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lindsleyhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-lindsley-60087618/https://www.youtube.com/@jplindsleyhttps://twitter.com/JPLindsleyhttps://www.instagram.com/jplindsley/https://www.facebook.com/josephlindsleyhttps://www.ukrainianfreedomnews.com/ ----------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/----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Edition No97 | 15-02-2025 - Europe’s new Munich moment happened on the eve of the Munich Security Conference. And it was at this event in 2007, 18 years ago, that Vladimir Putin announced his intention to create a new security architecture for Europe – a new world order in fact. He was ignored, and Europe was presumed to be secure. The aggressor was appeased, and his lawless aggression normalised. We carried on growing fat, rich and ignoring the echoes from history. ----------Here we are. A seamless path towards democratic transition was assumed for countries of the former Soviet Bloc, and not nearly enough thought and effort were given to nurturing it. We just forgot our own histories and paths to democracy which were stained with blood, tears sacrifices and nobility. In fact, the opposite happened – a headlong rush to disarm Ukraine, reassert Russia as prime voice of the region, and abandonment to financial self-interest through the creation of money laundering efforts such as Londongrad. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind, as the phrase goes. Ukraine has shown that the path to democracy is hard, and involves trauma, violence, radical thinking and bold action. It’s not easy – and never was. But before we dive into the maelstrom of news engulfing the world. Let’s take a moment of calm to understand what Ukraine has achieved and reflect on the fact that it is not conquered, despite the lies and delusions coming from Tucker Carlson, Viktor Orban, Fico, Gabbard and any number of other appeasing puppets of tyrannical regimes. Here is a calm image, and a reminder of what Ukraine is capable of, born of strength, will and ingenuity: Russia’s Black Sea fleet destroyed. Now more grain is exported through the Black Sea route that Russia tried to blockade than before Putin’s full-scale war. ----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------NEWS SOURCES:https://www.channel4.com/news/trump-shocks-europe-with-avalanche-of-concessions-to-putin-over-ukraine https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/12/politics/video/john-bolton-trump-putin-ukraine-russia-negotiations-digvid https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/02/13/7498050/ https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-stun-europe-peace-plan-ukraine-nato/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8ed3nk3n6ro https://news.sky.com/video/ceasefire-talks-not-a-betrayal-of-ukrainian-forces-says-us-defence-secretary-pete-hegseth-13308348----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN 10 Events in 10 months - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv 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 10 events in 10 months (at a minimum). We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. 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----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

David Satter is a journalist and historian with unique insights into how the deformation and repression of the past, is having terrible consequences for present day Russia. David has written extensively about Russia and the Soviet Union, especially the decline and fall of the USSR and rise of post-Soviet Russia. David Satter became the first American journalist to be expelled from Russia since the Cold War in December 2013. This was perhaps not a surprising move, given that his books have covered topics such as the FSB’s role in the apartment bombings that brought Putin to power. From 1976 to 1982 David was the Moscow correspondent of the Financial Times, and then became a special correspondent on Soviet affairs for The Wall Street Journal. He is currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a fellow of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. ----------BOOKS:He is author of several books that are essential reading to help understand the origins of the current crisis, including the brilliantly named books: - It Was a Long Time Ago, and It Never Happened Anyway- Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State- The Less You Know, The Better You Sleep----------LINKS:https://davidsatter.com/https://twitter.com/davidsatter?lang=enhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Satterhttps://www.hudson.org/experts/362-david-satterhttps://www.fpri.org/contributor/david-satter/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/david-satter----------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/----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqmLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Edition No96 | 14-02-2025 - Last night Russia struck the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, causing serious damage to the protective shielding. There is an almost zero possibility this was an accident, or not explicitly ordered by Vladimir Putin. It’s a signal. It’s a show of force and contempt for Western ‘peace-making’, or what he sees as weakness and capitulation. ----------We ran two events in Ukraine in the last two weeks. Lviv (part 2) and Kyiv. The event we ran in August 2023 was a huge success, and had a great impact. Now our aim is even more ambitious. Two cities. Two events. Multiple panels consisting of the best experts, and all filmed in high definition for the channel.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasBut it costs. Last time the overall cost was £3,500 for Live in Lviv, and we covered 80% of this through ticket sales. This time the costs are higher, and there's less opportunity to sell tickets at the available venues and studios, so I'm creating a campaign to raise £5,000 to make this trip a reality. We also have a much more ambitious programme to film interviews around Kyiv and Lviv for the channel. This project will have an impact, so please help if you can. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------There are never any accidents in target or timing when Russia wants to send a signal. Bombing the kid’s cancer hospital in Kyiv was one such moment, and this is another. Russia deliberately chose the day of the Munich Security Conference to send a message.Yesterday, Putin spoke with Trump about a potential ceasefire, and through various mechanisms and actions that are not yet fully exposed, encourage Trump to say a bunch of alarming, misinformed, appeasing and flattering statements – flattering that is for Putin. Hinting that Ukraine is not fully party to negotiations, that it is partially culpable for the war, and that Russia has some rights over stolen lands because it ‘lost people’ there. Make no mistake, this is a PR and psychological victory for Putin. So how does he react? ----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------NEWS SOURCES:https://kyivindependent.com/chornobyl-nuclear-plant-shelter-damaged-in-russian-drone-strike/https://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/russia-targets-chernobyl-high-explosive-drone-significant-damage/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-chernobyl-trump-live-news-b2698249.htmlhttps://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/14/europe/russia-ukraine-drones-chernobyl-intl-hnk/index.htmlhttps://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/ukraine-munich-trump-russia-appeasement/https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-warns-of-russian-military-buildup-potential-nato-threat-in-2026/https://kyivindependent.com/russia-to-rejoin-global-economy-europes-energy-system-after-russia-ukraine-peace-deal-orban-says/ ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------