Silicon Curtain

Silicon Bites Ep416 | 2026-10-09 | Primarily, he’s working for himself of course. But in serving his own ends, Trump is now overtly helping the enemy to win their genocidal war. After a phone call with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump announces Russia will pump millions of tonnes of diesel into American and global markets. Within minutes, the US Treasury issues a general licence to make it legal. Putin asks for sanctions relief — trump delivered. Is there any calculus behind this other than wanton appeasement of a murderous dictator? Does Trump believe that Russia’s miniscule contribution to the flows of diesel onto global markets will have any impact on prices? Because it’s unlikely to do that. What it does do, is use the U.S.’s authority to launder Russian blood diesel and create the optics of rehabilitation for a country that should be a pariah. ----------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:Kyiv Independent — "Trump says Russia agreed to supply millions of tons of diesel to US, global markets" (9 Oct 2026)ANI on X, reproducing Trump's full Truth Social post (9 Oct 2026)CNBC — "Trump strikes deal with Putin to supply Russian diesel to U.S. and global markets" (9 Oct 2026)AP via US News — "Trump Says US to Get Diesel From Russia, Relaxing Pressure on Moscow…" (9 Oct 2026)US Treasury (@USTreasury) on X (9 Oct 2026)NBC News — "Trump eases Russia sanctions, says Putin will release diesel amid massive price spikes" (9 Oct 2026)Kyiv Independent — "Exclusive: Putin puts a price on Trump's Ukraine energy truce — Kyiv fears the cost" (9 Oct 2026)The Moscow Times — "Trump Signs Sweeping Russia Sanctions Bill" (19 Sep 2026)Baker Botts — "President Trump Signs Graham Sanctions Act" (Sep 2026)AOL / The Hill — "Zelensky, Merz speak out against US easing Russia oil sanctions" (Mar 2026, background)AOL — "Zelensky furious with Trump as 30-day Russia waiver…" (Mar 2026, background)OFAC — Russia-related General License 134A (19 Mar 2026, background)----------

Silicon Bites SW26-226 | 2026-10-09 | HELL IN SOCHI. The sea is safe and clean insists the Kremlin. As the horizon burns with a menacing glow and a monstrous cloud of black smoke. Putin's Riviera burns – and the Kremlin's answer is to swear the sea is clean, despite the evidence that everyone can see for themselves. Sochi. The jewel of Putin's Russia. An Olympic city. Summer court of the Kremlin. The place where the regime goes to pretend the war is somewhere else, and happening to somebody else. On Tuesday evening, 6 October, the war exploded into view. Unavoidable and blazing. ----------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:Reuters (via Internazionale), "Russia says tanker crew rescued in Black Sea after attack set ship ablaze", 6 Oct 2026 Guardian staff and agencies (via AOL), "Naval drone hits oil tanker off Russian resort city Sochi, triggering massive blaze", 8 Oct 2026 RFE/RL, "Oil Tanker Hit By Naval Drones Near Sochi, Sparking Massive Fire On Black Sea", 7 Oct 2026Kyiv Post (Stefan Korshak), "Shadow Tanker Hit by Ukrainian Drones Threatens Spill Off Russia's Black Sea Coast", 8 Oct 2026 Meduza, "Greenpeace reports 25-square-kilometer oil slick in Black Sea after drone attack on tanker off Russia's Sochi coast", 8 Oct 2026The Maritime Executive, "Greenpeace Warns of Environmental Fallout From Tanker Attack in Black Sea", 7 Oct 2026 The Maritime Executive, "Tanker Catches Fire, Spills Oil off Russian Resort Town of Sochi", 6 Oct 2026 The Insider, Aframax Rio tracking history (Russian), 6 Oct 2026UNITED24 Media, "Flames Rise From Tanker Off Sochi After Possible Sea Drone Impact, Video", 6 Oct 2026 Kyiv Independent, "Shadow fleet tanker reportedly ablaze near Russian port city Sochi", 6 Oct 2026 TSN.ua, cargo and destination (citing Mash, ASTRA), 6 Oct 2026 www1.ru (Sochi local media), Sirius beach closure and Plishkin advisory, 6 Oct 2026 ----------

Silicon Bites Ep415 | 2026-10-08 | Putin has bet the farm on this war. And today the drones came calling – for the server farms, that is. Ukraine hits Yandex’s Sasovo data centre — in a new phase of the war of consequences for Moscow — Putin tried to make Kyiv unliveable. Now the mirror strategy flips toward Moscow. Did Putin really think he could strike Ukraine without being struck back? ----------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:Meduza — "Ukraine strikes Yandex data center housing two of the company's supercomputers" (8 Oct 2026): https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/10/08/ukraine-strikes-yandex-data-center-housing-two-of-the-company-s-supercomputersCNBC — "Russia's internet giant Yandex halts operations at major data center after drone attack" (8 Oct 2026): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/russia-yandex-ukraine-drone-strike-data-center.htmlAFP via Yahoo News — "Drone hits Yandex data centre, in first such attack on Russia" (8 Oct 2026): https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/drone-hits-yandex-data-centre-084549070.htmlFrance 24 — "More than 30 killed in Russian strike on buses in Ukraine's Kramatorsk as Kyiv targets data centre" (8 Oct 2026): https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20261008-russian-strike-buses-kills-at-least-12-ukraine-kramatorsk-kyiv-targets-data-centreKyiv Post — "Ukraine Strikes Yandex Data Center, Russian Oil Refinery Overnight" (8 Oct 2026): https://www.kyivpost.com/post/86416The Record (Recorded Future News) — "Major Yandex data center in Russia hit by Ukrainian drone strike" (8 Oct 2026): https://therecord.media/yandex-russia-drone-ukraineNewsweek via Yahoo News — "Ukraine strikes major data center of Russia's 'Google' in drone attack" (8 Oct 2026): https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/ukraine-strikes-major-data-center-074954554.htmldpa via Yahoo News — "Ukraine strikes Yandex data centre in Russia, firm confirms 'incident'" (8 Oct 2026): https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/ukraine-strikes-yandex-data-centre-091832238.htmlKyiv Independent — front-page briefs on the Sasovo strike and the Defence Ministry's refinery assessment (7–8 Oct 2026): https://kyivindependent.com/Meduza — "Russia has begun striking Kyiv's bridges across the Dnipro for the first time since invading Ukraine" (4 Oct 2026, background): https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/10/04/russia-has-begun-striking-kyiv-s-bridges-across-the-dnipro-for-the-first-time-since-invading-ukraine----------

Lisa Woods is Founder and Executive Director of the MedPsy Foundation Inc and MedPsy Foundation Ukraine, focused on psychedelic therapy research and mental health advocacy in Ukraine. She has over 13 years of experience in humanitarian health, including serving as Deputy Health Cluster Coordinator for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Ukraine.----------LINKS:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisanwoods/https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7497927230010916864/https://medpsyfoundation.org/https://www.medpsy.org.ua/teamhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1imZLn4Wfw----------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----------

Pyotr Kurzin is host of The Global Gambit podcast, as is an historian of great power politics and the Cold War. He also has Russian British heritage, which gives him a close perspective on the topic. ----------LINKS:https://www.youtube.com/@PKurzinhttps://www.youtube.com/@UCSody-jKZxozgjTP2xddWhQ https://www.linkedin.com/in/pyotrkurzin/ --------------------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----------