Nigel Gould-Davies is a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. Between 2010 and 2013 he held senior government relations roles in the international energy industry. Previously he has also served in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where his roles included head of the Economic Section in Moscow, ambassador to Belarus, and project director in the Policy Planning Unit. He is author of Tectonic Politics: Global Political Risk in an Age of Transformation (Brookings, 2019). ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/Nigelgd1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigel-gould-davies-5347b51a?originalSubdomain=uk https://www.iiss.org/people/russia-and-eurasia/dr-nigel-gould-davies/ https://gsas.harvard.edu/person/nigel-gould-davies BOOKS: Tectonic Politics: Global Political Risk in an Age of Transformation (2019) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tectonic-Politics-Insights-Critical-International/dp/0815737130 https://www.chathamhouse.org/2019/05/tectonic-politics-global-political-risk-age-transformation ARTICLES: https://www.iiss.org/research-paper/2026/05/the-coming-crisis-in-russias-political-economy/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00396338.2024.2332057 https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/09/biden-putin-ukraine-appeasement-deterrence-donbass/ ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain https://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Car4Ukraine https://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaigns Dzyga's Paw https://dzygaspaw.com/projects 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/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtain Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm ----------

Silicon Bites Ep349 | 2026-06-10 | A Russian general was deleted, via a car-bomb 400 metres from where another Russian general was eliminated last April. Same suburb. Same pattern. Same message. There is nowhere to hide for Russian war criminals. 9 June 2026 — Damir Davydov, Head of the Missile and Artillery Ammunition Supply Department of the GRAU, Killed by a BMW X3 Bomb in the Aviatorov Microdistrict of Balashikha at 5:30 a.m. — the fourth senior Russian military officer assassinated on Russian soil in eighteen months. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain https://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation ---------- SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtain https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras Our 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 ---------- SOURCES: Meduza — "A year after a Russian general was assassinated in a car bombing outside Moscow, another general is reportedly dead in the same city — in another car bombing" (9 June 2026) UNN (Ukrainian News Network) — "Car explodes in Moscow region – top Russian Ministry of Defense officer killed" (9 June 2026) UA.News — "A topographic officer killed in an explosion in the Moscow region" (9 June 2026) UNITED24 Media — "Car Explodes Near Moscow in Military District Where Russian General May Have Been Killed" (9 June 2026) RBC-Ukraine — "Russian colonel reportedly killed in car blast near Moscow" (9 June 2026) News.az / UA News — "High-ranking Russian military officer killed in Moscow car bombing" (9 June 2026) Nasha Niva — "High-ranking military officer dies in car explosion in Balashikha near Moscow" (9 June 2026) Daily Kos (citizen journalism via Anton Gerashchenko / ASTRA / MAKS 26 Bluesky sourcing) PBS NewsHour / AP — "Car bomb kills Russian general in Moscow" (22 December 2025) Time magazine — "Russian General Killed in Moscow Car Bomb Attack" (December 2025) BBC News — "Russia detains suspect in car bomb attack that killed general" (April 2025) RFE/RL via Global Security archive — "Russian General Killed In Car Bombing Near Moscow" (25 April 2025) Wikipedia — "Yaroslav Moskalik" — Born 22 August 1966, Angren, Uzbek SSR; died 25 April 2025, Balashikha; rank Lieutenant General; Deputy Chief, Main Operational Directorate of General Staff; killed by remotely-detonated IED in parked car around 10:40 local time ----------

Bryan Pickens is a former U.S. Army special operations soldier, security contractor, tactical advisor, and Ukraine war veteran. He has served in elite U.S. units, including as a Green Beret in U.S. Army Special Forces and as a Ranger with 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He is currently associated with Valoryx Group LLC and is publicly described as a tactical advisor, drone-operations and training specialist, security consultant, and Russian-language proficient former special operator. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Pickens fought alongside Ukrainian special operations forces and became one of the Western veterans arguing that Ukraine’s battlefield experience has outpaced much of NATO’s current understanding of modern war. In comments cited by Forbes, he said that even with “16 combat deployments,” he had to relearn how to fight in Ukraine, adding that Ukrainian counterparts were teaching him. His recent public commentary focuses heavily on drone warfare, counter-drone defence, electronic warfare, mid-range strike capability, and the urgent need for Western militaries to learn directly from Ukrainian operators. He has warned that cheap drone swarms cannot be sustainably countered with multi-million-dollar interceptors, and has argued that Ukraine can help professionalize Western warfighters in interception, surveillance, strike integration, and counter-electronic warfare. Pickens has also written and co-authored for The Cipher Brief, including on what Washington should learn from Ukraine’s battlefield, and has appeared on veteran/security podcasts discussing his U.S. special operations background, Ukraine experience, and tactical lessons from the war. ---------- LINKS: https://www.thecipherbrief.com/experts/bryan-pickens https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkirichenko/2026/05/15/the-pentagon-is-learning-drone-warfare-from-ukraine/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkirichenko/2026/05/03/japans-terra-drone-bets-on-ukraines-cheap-way-to-stop-shaheds/ https://www.thecipherbrief.com/the-future-of-war-is-now-what-washington-needs-to-hear-from-the-battlefield ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain https://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation ---------- ACTIVE CAMPAIGN: We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire Drones Silicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga’s Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones. https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampires These heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine’s largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components. ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Car4Ukraine https://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaigns Dzyga's Paw https://dzygaspaw.com/projects 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/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtain Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm ----------

Silicon Bites Ep348 | 2026-06-08 | The man who initiated the war, says that Crimea can fall. Igor Girkin's June 2nd doom-post from prison, and the Z-patriot chorus that cannot stop telling the grim truth to power. Breaking: 2–4 June 2026 — Strelkov lists Ukrainian strikes on Crimea from his Kirov cell, the word "defeat" returns to his Telegram, and the Russian Z-patriot ecosystem crosses the final rhetorical threshold of despair. On Monday 2 June 2026, a Telegram post appeared on the channel of Igor Girkin — known by his nom de guerre Strelkov — the former colonel of Russia's Federal Security Service who personally led the Russian armed seizure of Sloviansk in April 2014, who admitted in his own words to "pulling the trigger" of the war in eastern Ukraine, and who is currently serving a four-year sentence in a prison colony in Russia's Kirov region. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain https://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation ---------- SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtain https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras Our 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 ---------- SOURCES: ----------

On the night of May 23 to 24, Russia destroyed the apartment of our author Artem Zakharchenko. Fortunately, Artem and his wife were not injured. But they were left without a home. Could you please share this information with the activist communities in your countries? This family now needs support to rebuild their home and their life from scratch. PayPal of the oldest son, Marco: limark.2mark@gmail.com name: Marko Zakharchenko For Ukrainian banking: Посилання на банку https://send.monobank.ua/jar/7sFs5B5MAi Номер картки банки - 4874 1000 3826 9596 ---------- Artem Zakharchenko is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, editor, media analyst and scholar from Kyiv, originally from Chernihiv. He holds a doctorate in social communications and is associated with the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and is head of CAT-UA. His work spans two connected fields: Ukrainian literature and information warfare / strategic narratives. As a novelist, he is the author of Помру за Україну, але це не точно — roughly, I’ll Die for Ukraine, But Not for Sure — a 2021 contemporary Ukrainian novel about imprisonment, patriotism, betrayal and the moral costs of war. As a communications researcher, he writes on Russian propaganda, social media, Ukrainian wartime narratives and the struggle for attention in the information space. His 2025 Frontiers article develops the idea of a “connective strategic narrative” in the Russian-Ukrainian war: a narrative formed not only by state elites, but by emotionally engaged social media public. ---------- BOOKS: Narratives of Mass Destruction: Tactics and Strategies of Information Warfare (2026) Наративи масового ураження. Тактики і стратегії інформаційної війни Помру за Україну, але це не точно I’ll Die for Ukraine, But Not for Sure (2021) ---------- LINKS: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/04/18/ukrainian-authorities-are-worried-about-online-disinformation_6668838_4.html https://internews.ua/en/opportunity/social-cleavages-in-ukraine ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain https://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Car4Ukraine https://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaigns Dzyga's Paw https://dzygaspaw.com/projects 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/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtain Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm ----------

Welcome to our monthly conversation with Konstantin, who is one of the most respected voices on YouTube about what is happening Inside Russia. Konstantin Samoilov is a well-known YouTuber whose channel ‘Inside Russia’ comments insightfully on Russia’s decent into authoritarianism over the last few years. But now, like many others, he’s outside Russia, with no idea of when he can return there. ---------- LINKS: @INSIDERUSSIA https://www.patreon.com/insiderussia INSIDE RUSSIA is a source of current news on Russia - Konstantin carefully selects 9 news stories that are important and really matter, with commentaries and analyses by Konstantin delivered daily to channel patrons at Patreon.com Get your access to daily news updates at patreon.com/INSIDERUSSIA ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain https://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Car4Ukraine https://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaigns Dzyga's Paw https://dzygaspaw.com/projects 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/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtain Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm ---------- DESCRIPTION: Kyiv Update w/ Konstantin Samoilov: Russia’s Economic Collapse, SPIEF Humiliation & Escalation Risks In Kyiv for his final recording of the trip, Jonathan speaks with Konstantin Samoilov about intensifying strikes on Ukraine and Ukraine’s growing ability to strike deep into Russia, fueling tension and political uncertainty. Samoilov says Russian agencies are trying to silence him, reducing his output, and argues Moscow is now targeting English-language critics to protect RT’s outward propaganda. They discuss the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum as humiliating theater amid visible refinery fires, claims of a rapidly accelerating Russian economic collapse, and the notable absence of central bank head Elvira Nabiullina as a sign of elite infighting. Samoilov cites fuel rationing, falling tax receipts, deficits, and shrinking options, concluding Putin cannot end the war without risking his own downfall and may escalate beyond Ukraine, while Ukraine’s victory is likely to be driven by internal Russian clan conflict. Jonathan closes by promoting his edited book, The Dark Heart of Russia. ---------- CHAPTERS: 01:12 Why Konstantin Went Quiet 03:46 Russia Targets English Voices 06:55 Potemkin Forum Optics 10:07 Economy Enters Acute Phase 14:42 Putin Speech Empty Theater 19:47 Nabiullina Vanishes 22:36 Robots and Fake Volga 26:02 Can Propaganda Survive Defeat 28:03 Visa Narrative Whiplash 31:04 Kursk Under Occupation 32:30 Nabiullina And Collapse 36:21 Why Putin Cannot Stop 41:44 Fuel Crisis Hits Home 44:54 Escalation Scenarios 48:09 Desperation Over Strategy ----------