Edition No79 | 11-01-2025 - This channel has been warning for over a year of the threats to marine ecologies from Russia’s rust-bucket fleet of clapped-out illegal tankers, transporting its blood oil to unscrupulous buyers around the world to fuel Putin’s genocidal war. And now another one of them is threatening disaster, as a shadow fleet vessel carrying 100,000 tonnes of oil breaks down and is adrift in heavy seas off Germany’s northern coast. The Eventin was sailing from Russia to Egypt with 100,000 tonnes of oil when its engine failed and it lost ability to manoeuvre. Three tugs are now attempting to steer it away from the coast and towards a safer area. Though if the vessel breaks up, there is no safe area for 100,000 tonnes of oil to dissipate. As the vessel drifted in coastal waters Friday, the foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, criticised Russia’s use of “dilapidated oil tankers” to avoid sanctions on its oil exports, calling it a threat to European security. Russia has used murky ships for oil exports to circumvent sanctions imposed by Western nations for waging its brutal war against Ukraine. ---------- At relatively short notice, we're organising two events in Ukraine in the last week of January. 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/extras But 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 ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A 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 frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/11/germany-battles-to-secure-russian-shadow-fleet-oil-tanker-adrift-off-northern-coast https://kyivindependent.com/germany-towing-shadow-fleet-tanker/ https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/01/11/germany-races-to-secure-stricken-russian-shadow-fleet-oil-tanker-2-a87574 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/01/11/germany-races-to-secure-stricken-russian-shadow-fleet-oil-tanker-2-a87574 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/01/10/nato-to-send-2-ships-to-guard-baltic-sea-infrastructure-finland-says-a87563 ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemysl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ----------

Russia Is Losing the War in Ukraine, says a former senior US diplomat. In today’s interview I’m honoured to be joined by Ambassador James Gilmore, who explains the broader consequences of Russia’s actions and what’s at stake if the international community fails to push back against Putin’s aggressive imperialist and expansionist ambitions. As a Trump-era diplomat James Gilmore has had firsthand experience of negotiating with the US’s European partners and our common Russian foe. ---------- James Gilmore was the former US Ambassador to the OSCE during the first administration of President-elect Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, Gilmore also chaired the Republican National Committee in 2001 and served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe during the first Trump administration. In 1997 James Gilmore was elected as Governor of Virginia with a majority of 56%, where improvements to education quality and teacher numbers formed one of his key manifesto policies. ---------- KYIV POST INTERVIEW: Russia is losing: Former Trump Admin Insider Speaks Out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhS-Gi4mrwk ---------- LINKS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Gilmore https://caprifoundation.org/james-s-gilmore-iii/ https://ua.usembassy.gov/tag/ambassador-james-s-gilmore-iii/ https://www.nga.org/governor/james-s-gilmore/ ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: 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.

Liubov Velychko is a Ukrainian investigative journalist with over 15 years of experience uncovering corruption, crime, and human rights violations. She Specializes in exposing disinformation campaigns, and has conducted numerous investigations into Russian propaganda, revealing the networks behind its spread and dismantling the information operations orchestrated by Russian intelligence agencies. ---------- At relatively short notice, we're organising two events in Ukraine in the last week of January. 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/extras But 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 ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A 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 frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- LINKS: https://www.linkedin.com/in/v-press/ https://www.rusi.org/people/velychko https://x.com/VelychkoLiubov https://www.occrp.org/en/people/lyubov-velychko https://mind.ua/en/author/1158-liubov-velychko ---------- THE MAIN MYTHS: - Myth: Ukraine is irredeemably corrupt and has greater corruption issues than Russia. - Myth: Ukraine is not a democracy because elections have been suspended in wartime. - Myth: Russian language and culture are suppressed in Ukraine. - Myth: Russians don’t oppose the war, because they have ‘bad information’. - Myth: Russians can be divided into ‘good’ and ‘bad’. - Myth: Putin can be negotiated with using economically rational, transactional logic. - Myth: Putin insane, not simply a kleptocratic, chauvinistic psychopath. - Myth: Negotiations and treaties with Russia can give Ukraine peace and security. - Myth: Putin wants peace. - Myth: Russia will be satisfied with just a few territories of Ukraine, in DNR and LNR. - Myth: Zelensky makes decisions for himself and his clique, not the Ukrainian people. - Myth: Oligarchs pull all the strings, and leaders are only their puppets, and of the US. - Myth: Russian security concerns is a real and serious topic for consideration. - Myth: Russia could be accepted into NATO, and other international institutions. - Myth: Trade relationship with India, Global South, etc can help make Ukraine secure. - Myth: Russians can be forgiven this generation for the crimes committed in their name. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ----------

Edition No78 | 09-01-2025 - Musk and Trump are shaking things up, and the inauguration of Trump 2.0 has not even begun. The four years following Trump’s election in 2016 felt like drinking from a fire hydrant of toxic nonsense. Somehow, though, the madness was largely contained to US domestic issues and pollution of the informational sphere – Trump did not instigate any major wars. It’s quite possible Putin delayed launching a full-scale war in Ukraine because Trump was in office and then COVID kicked in. But now, it seems the gloves of insanity are well and truly off. ---------- At relatively short notice, we're organising two events in Ukraine in the last week of January. 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/extras But 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 ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A 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 frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- Reach for the impossible and get something for nothing - Moscow rules. Negotiation rather than hot war. Fear bargaining. People under pressure tend to make mistakes and default to appeasement of a bully - Again, a negotiating tactic designed to get more than you would otherwise. - Also force people to pick sides, alliances, impose exclusivity. Smoke and mirrors. Sleight of hand. - Musk – the same role played by Steele report and Guiliani in Trump 1.0. - Is Musk just saying mad things or being briefed and encourages by Trump circle. - Is he just tolerated, or are they extending his leash, goading him to do this? - Because it suits their purposes. Again, it’s the ‘insanity’ strategy that has worked so well for Putin, forcing western powers to self-deter. And even to snooze. He’s mad and is going to do it. - Accelerate the world to Vladimir Putin conception of geopolitics. - A dog-eat-dog world, or competition between sovereign imperial blocks. - All other countries are resources, assets, pawns, but do not have agency. Buckle up. Trump has had time to prepare for his 2.0 administration, and its going to be a bumpy ride. This is WWIII if we are lucky, which may have a finite beginning and end. If we’re unlucky this is the new global disorder, and it will become a permanent feature of life. ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-horsfall-52243220/ ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ----------

Glen Grant worked as a defence and reform expert in Ukraine working for the Ukrainian Institute for the Future. He is also a Senior Fellow in the UK Institute for Statecraft on Building Integrity Initiative countering Russian influence. Glen graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Junior Staff Course Warminster and the Joint Staff Defence College at the Royal Naval College Greenwich. ---------- LINKS: https://x.com/GlenGrant https://balticsecurity.eu/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/glengrant/ https://jamestown.org/analyst/glen-grant/ ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS: https://www.kyivpost.com/podcasts/31754 https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/03/20/2023-is-a-time-and-chance-for-military-change-in-ukraine-glen-grant/ https://kyivindependent.com/author/glen-grant-15959/ ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: 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.

Trucks under Christmas Tree Since 2022 an extraordinary group of people have been fighting the information war for Ukraine in the global arena. Car for Ukraine has now joined with a group of these special people and their communities to bring Christmas to the frontline in the toughest areas where the fight is happening right now. https://donorbox.org/trucks-under-christmas-tree/fundraiser/silicon-curtain The Goal of the Campaign for Silicon Curtain: € 10,000 to purchase 1 truck to save Ukrainian lives. With this campaign, we will raise funds for 1 truck to help brave warriors from the 237th battalion, 129th brigade who leverage technology and manage to hold russian advance at the very edge of the frontline. Who will receive the vehicle? 237 battalion 129 brigade aerial reconnaissance unit. https://donorbox.org/trucks-under-christmas-tree/fundraiser/silicon-curtain Donate and get: Pins. Everyone who contributes with €100 (~$110) or more will get a limited collection pin - THE INNOVATOR. This pin serves as a sign of Ukrainians' ingenuity in this fight. Custom branding: For €2,500 we will place your custom sticker on one side of a truck. It could be your logo, name, or maybe your country's flag. "Your truck" at the frontline: The average cost of an armored pickup we deploy to the frontline is €10,000. If you contribute with that amount all the custom branding options will be yours. Plus you'll receive a personalized reporting about the truck, where it ends up as well as some surprise gifts from us. About Car for Ukraine (as of November 30, 2024): - 510+ Vehicles Delivered to the Frontline, mainly armored pickups - 1,000,000+ Kilometers Covered Across Europe - €4,000,000 worth of vehicles delivered to the frontline https://donorbox.org/trucks-under-christmas-tree/fundraiser/silicon-curtain

Edition No77 | 08-01-2025 - When preparing this second part episode, I was going to go through the interview chronologically and respond to each part. But many YouTubers have already done this, and many of you will have seen the interview in its entirety already. So, this likely won’t be of great value. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A 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 frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- Zelenskyy’s answers are for the most part superb and push back strongly against Russian disinformation narratives far better than I can. This is perhaps one of Zelenskyy’s most forceful and accessible interviews. In some ways it’s the naivety, and what could be described as ignorance of context on the part of Fridman, that triggers Zelenskyy into providing some of the most compelling answers ever given to Russian narratives and talking points, many of which have been adopted by the MAGA bubble as well as some in conservative political circles. Also, it must be said by the far Left, and those who have traditionally seen the Soviet Union as a template for an alternative society to capitalism and as an antidote to American imperialism. Both are deeply misguided, as Russia is a classic imperialist entity, perhaps one of the most brutal imperial powers in history, and not a template for any kind of civilisation that a reasonable person should aspire to live in or help build. ~/ /~/ /~/ /~/ /~ So, in this episode, I’m going to examine the Russian myths and propagandistic narratives that are the source for what seems to be much of Lex Fridman’s research. He claims at the end of the interview to have consumed many books on the history of Ukraine and Russia, it’s imperial domination of the region and the more recent history that led up to the full-scale war. But unfortunately, his choice of themes and the construction of his questions, suggest to me that his sources of information are weighted towards podcasts, memes and conversations within a bubble, rather than solid journalism and the writings of professional historians. There is a strong bias in Lex’s framing of topics and questions towards Russian inspired historical mythology and intentionally manufactured national myths, which seem to be a more potent source of inspiration for Lex in his choices, priorities and phraseology, than reliable sources. Here is a breakdown of nearly all Lex’s questions that spanned the three-hour interview, and how each correlate to a greater or lesser extent to common Russian narratives. Some of the topics of course are perfectly valid to bring up, and Russian propaganda rarely manufacturers issues from scratch. It leverages existing problems, pours petrol on the flames of real conflicts, and seeks to widen and weaponize existing divisions. But propaganda utilises these issues, and Lex has scored an almost complete bingo card of them. Again, I suspect that his intention is not to be propagandistic, but the framing of his questions, the language he uses, betrays a lack of depth and seriousness to his research, as well as a remarkable level of naivety about real-world politics. ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u321m25rKXc ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemysl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ----------

Edition No76 | 07-01-2025 - An anchor belonging to the oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of being used to damage undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland, has been located and retrieved from the seabed. This follows the seizure by police in Finland of the Russian-linked dark fleet tanker Eagle S. This is the first time a ship suspected of sabotaging undersea infrastructure has been taken into custody by authorities, according to Estonia Prime Minister Kristen Michal. Estonia Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said the damage to undersea infrastructure was not a coincidence. “They have become systematic, and we must consider them an attack on our infrastructure,” he said. The Finnish customs service believes the Eagle S is part of a shadow fleet of ageing tankers being used to evade sanctions on the sale of Russian oil. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A 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 frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- Trucks under Christmas Tree https://donorbox.org/trucks-under-christmas-tree/fundraiser/silicon-curtain The Goal of the Campaign for Silicon Curtain: € 10,000 to purchase 1 truck to save Ukrainian lives. ---------- Here are some interesting points about the seizure of the vessel, made by expert Robin Häggblom on Twitter last week. 1) Finnish Defence Forces involvement seems to have been limited. It was the Finnish Border Guard's flagship that shadowed the tanker and caught it in the act, According to Robin this was largely handled by the ministry of the Interior and Law Enforcement, rather than obvious military forces units. 2) The Police told a reporter they don't plan on contacting the Russian authorities. This was a strong and correct gesture of contempt for Russia and its actions. But Robin notes that it may also mark an end to the process of soft appeasement of Russia known as Finlandization, where the USSR and Russia was given special consideration compared to other states. 3) If the Russians have been foolish enough to use shadow fleet vessels as SIGINT platforms, for monitoring and intelligence operations, then we may expect must closer tracking of their grey fleet by NATO powers, and potentially more interventions. The shadow fleet-concept, notes Robin, rests on the right of innocent passage, while intelligence gathering specifically is mentioned as *not* being part of that under UNCLOS Article 19, 2. If there is reason to suspect innocent passage isn't adhered to, it can up new legal actions, which the Western allies have been loath to adopt until now. 4) The operation is typical for how Finland handles hybrid operations. Everything is done according to the book and within a clear legal framework. But the signalling around this operation appears to be unusually strong, which may be intended as a clear message to Russia. More of a show of force than was necessary may indicate that Finland and other countries’ patience with Russia’s illegal, aggressive and risky actions does have limits. More on this story in forthcoming episodes with experts Elizabeth Braw and Jerry Hendrix. ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://yle.fi/a/74-20135216 https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/finland-court-rejects-owners-request-release-oil-tanker-2025-01-03/ https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1151950/Finland-police-seize-Russian-linked-dark-fleet-tanker-Eagle-S-in-cable-cutting-investigation ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ----------

Lesia Dubenko, a Ukrainian journalist and analyst with features in major outlets like the Financial Times, dives deep into the significant interview between President Zelenskyy and Lex Fridman. She discusses Ukraine's ongoing anti-corruption efforts, the hurdles of conducting elections amid conflict, and the crucial need for solid security guarantees from allies. The conversation delves into the complexities of military aid, the implications of language in diplomacy, and the dangers of misinformation that challenge Ukraine's narrative on the world stage.

Engage with insights from Lex Fridman’s interview with President Zelenskyy, aimed at educating indifferent audiences about Ukraine's plight. The discussion delves into Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts, revealing challenges of wartime elections. Zelenskyy tackles disinformation and its impact on public trust. The podcast critiques military aid strategies, underscoring the complexities behind leadership decisions. Finally, it analyzes the nuances of political dialogue, exposing the depth of motivations shaping conflict discussions.