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My friends, let’s have some quality time together this Friday night, checking out the most recent updates from Ukraine and beyond - and also let’s enjoy reading some of the most hilarious comments on this channel! ---- Fuel my updates with caffeine! 💙💛 https://buymeacoffee.com/starskyua PayPal: operator.starsky@gmail.com Starsky Merch Store: https://starskyua.com ---- Support RUBIZH Brigade: https://harmata-fund.org/en/ ---- Contacts: https://www.instagram.com/StarskyUA/ https://bsky.app/profile/starskyua.bsky.social Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/DYTYtMUDCm #StarskyReport #Ukraine

Ostap Ukrainats was born in 1994 in Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine. He graduated from the National Kyiv-Mohyla University with BA and MA degrees in comparative literature. He made his debut as a writer in 2017 with the novel "Malchut", which was hailed the "debut of the year" by Village magazine. Since then, his novels „Trance” and „Crusade Chancellery” were well received by readers. Ostap writes in the genre of historical and peculiar fiction, often referring to cultural heritage and history of anecdotes. He lives in Lviv. Of his four novels, three are dedicated to historical events and explore Ukrainian identity through the prism of postcolonial and trauma studies. A year before the invasion, he opened a publishing house specializing in humanities with his wife and their colleague. ---------- LINKS: https://willadecjusza.pl/en/ostap-ukrainets-ostap-ukrayinets-1 https://lareviewofbooks.org/contributor/ostap-ukrainets/ https://www.instagram.com/ukrostap/ https://bookforum.ua/en/participants/9131 https://lareviewofbooks.org/short-takes/dont-touch-my-corner-the-war-from-ivano-frankivsk/ ---------- Easter Pysanky: Silicon Curtain - https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/easter-pysanky-silicon-curtain Car for Ukraine has joined forces with a group of influencers, creators, and news observers during this special Easter season. In peaceful times, we might gift a basket of pysanky (hand-painted eggs), but now, we aim to deliver a basket of trucks to our warriors. This time, our main focus is on the Seraphims of the 104th Brigade and Chimera of HUR (Main Directorate of Intelligence), highly effective units that: - disrupt enemy logistics - detect and strike command centers - carry out precision operations against high-value enemy targets https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/easter-pysanky-silicon-curtain ---------- 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 front-line towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtain https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras Our 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 a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras We 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/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 ----------

Published on Victory Day - deliberately. While Putin’s tanks roll across Red Square on 9 May (if the parade goes ahead), Ukrainian drone operators are dismantling that same military in real time. The Dark Heart of Russia is published on that date as an ironic statement: the war Russia says it is winning is the war it has already lost. WHO IS IN IT: Four NATO commanding officers. The former NSC Russia director. The man who broke the Kremlin’s money. A chess grandmaster. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The Russian Duma deputy who cast the lone vote against the annexation of Crimea - who now fights for Ukraine. 30 of the world’s leading experts deliver the verdict the West has been too timid to hear. General David H. Petraeus, General Sir Richard Shirreff, General Mark Hertling, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, Fiona Hill, Garry Kasparov, Bill Browder, Peter Pomerantsev, Luke Harding, Mark Galeotti, Oleksandra Romantsova, Ilya Ponomarev, and fourteen more. Edited by Jonathan Fink | Gibson Square | Publication date 9 May 2026. Drawn for their exceptional insight into Russia’s political soul from nearly 1,000 long-form interviews recorded for the leading Geopolitical podcast Silicon Curtain (YouTube) - 2M+ views/month, 180k subscribers. ---------- The Dark Heart of Russia - NOW available from the following stores: Bookshop.org https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-dark-heart-of-russia-a-startling-journey-through-russia-s-sinister-culture-jonathan-fink/a452423d870823fc World of Books https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/dark-heart-of-russia-book-jonathan-fink-9781783342662 Waterstones https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-dark-heart-of-russia/jonathan-fink//9781783342662 Blackwells https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781783342662 Hatchards https://www.hatchards.co.uk/book/the-dark-heart-of-russia/bill-browder/9781783342679 Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Heart-Russia-Journey-Startling/dp/1783342668/ref=mp_s_a_1_3 ---------- FOUR ARGUMENTS THE WEST HAS REFUSED TO MAKE 1. Russians are also the problem. The fiction that Putin alone is responsible does not survive the evidence. Vast sections of Russian society have participated actively in an imperial project that has killed hundreds of thousands. 2. Something is structurally wrong with Russia. The rot predates Putin and will outlast him. Contributors trace it from the totalitarian inheritance to today’s Orwellian state. Regime change alone is not a solution, for an empire wired for aggression. 3. Russia is the global export hub for kleptocracy. The Kremlin is the laboratory for ‘kleptocratism’: capturing democracies, weaponising grievance, installing strongmen, exporting chaos. From Trump’s America to Orbán’s Hungary - Moscow’s playbook is everywhere. 4. This war is the hinge of the century. How it ends - and on whose terms - will determine whether constitutional democracies or the authoritarian-kleptocrat model prevails. There is no separating Ukraine from the wider crisis of the West. “The West is, once again, being lulled to sleep. The thirty voices in this book are the ones who have spent their careers refusing to let that happen.” - Jonathan Fink ---------- 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 ----------

THE DARK HEART OF RUSSIA Edited by Jonathan Fink • Gibson Square • Published 9 May 2026 ---------- 30 of the World’s Leading Experts Deliver the Definitive Verdict on Russia, the Kremlin, and the War That Is Reshaping the West and the Global Order. Published on Victory Day — the day Russia celebrates its greatest military triumph — at is loses the war in Ukraine in real-time. The Dark Heart of Russia is a landmark anthology drawn for their exceptional insight into Russia from nearly one thousand long-form interviews recorded for the Silicon Curtain podcast. It brings together thirty of the world’s most authoritative voices on Russia and Ukraine in a single, unflinching portrait of what it has become under Putin: “the midwife of modern imperialism and post-truth populist politics.” This is not a book of diplomatic nuance, but an X-ray of the rogue nation of our time. ---------- AVAILABLE NOW: From all good book shops and the following online stores: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-dark-heart-of-russia-a-startling-journey-through-russia-s-sinister-culture-jonathan-fink/a452423d870823fc https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/dark-heart-of-russia-book-jonathan-fink-9781783342662 https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-dark-heart-of-russia/jonathan-fink//9781783342662 https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781783342662 https://www.hatchards.co.uk/book/the-dark-heart-of-russia/bill-browder/9781783342679 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Heart-Russia-Journey-Startling/dp/1783342668/ref=mp_s_a_1_3 ---------- THE CONTRIBUTORS Analytical, military and strategic voices: former NATO commanding officers General David H. Petraeus, General Sir Richard Shirreff, General Mark Hertling, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges. Intelligence, policy and academia: Fiona Hill (former NSC Russia director), Garry Kasparov, Bill Browder, Peter Pomerantsev, Mark Galeotti, Luke Harding, John Sweeney, Keir Giles, Owen Matthews, Alexander Etkind, David Satter, John Lough, Timothy Ash, Elisabeth Braw, James Nixey, Anders Puck Nielsen. Plus Ukrainian voices: Oleksandra Romantsova (Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Centre for Civil Liberties), Volodymyr Yermolenko, Olena Halushka, Anna Danylchuk, Sasha Dovzhyk, Olga Tokariuk. ---------- Fiona Hill is a British-American foreign affairs specialist and author. She is a former official at the U.S. National Security Council, specializing in Russian and European affairs, and was a witness in the November 2019 House hearings during the first impeachment of Donald Trump. She earned a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University in 1998. She currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and will take up office as Chancellor of Durham University in England in summer of this year. She recently served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council from 2017 to 2019. From 2006 to 2009, she served as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at The National Intelligence Council. ---------- BOOKS: There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century (2021) Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin (2015) The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold (2003) ---------- 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 ---------- DESCRIPTION: Vladimir Putin and his inner circle have pulled Europe into an earlier era of great-power conflict, driven by a hardened worldview shaped by Soviet upbringing, KGB service, and a mental map that treats Ukraine and Belarus as part of Russia. It describes Putin’s increasingly centralized “vertical of power,” intensified isolation and legacy-focus during COVID, and his use of selective historical narratives to control the present and dictate Ukraine’s future through spheres-of-influence thinking. The speakers contend the West misread these assumptions, while Putin misread Ukraine and expected quick capitulation in 2022 amid perceived Western weakness. They reject claims of Western provocation, warn that conceding territory would not end pressure, note shifting European security calculations like Finland and Sweden seeking NATO cover, and end with promotion of the book “The Dark Heart of Russia,” featuring 30 interviews critical of Kremlin imperialism and stressing support for Ukraine. ---------- CHAPTERS: 00:00 Putin Rewinds History 00:56 KGB Roots and Soviet Mindset 02:36 COVID Isolation and Groupthink 05:01 History as a Weapon 08:03 West Misreads Spheres 10:56 America Europe and NATO 15:55 One Man System Risks 22:51 Why 2022 Looked Ripe 24:28 Why Ukraine Can't Quit 28:29 Ukraine Future and Corruption 31:54 Never Again and Book Plug ----------

Silicon Bites Ep317 | 2026-04-15 | Russia’s gold reserves are going, going, gone. The kremlin starts eating its war chest. For the first time in nearly a quarter century, Vladimir Putin is selling Russia's gold. Not lending it. Not shuffling it from one Kremlin pocket to another. Selling it. On the open market. To pay for a war he cannot win and cannot stop. Here is what just happened, confirmed by The Moscow Times on March 24th and corroborated by the World Gold Council, Euromaidan Press, and Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service. In January, the Central Bank of Russia liquidated 300,000 troy ounces of physical gold. In February, another 200,000. Roughly fourteen metric tons in two months — the largest bullion drawdown since the second quarter of 2002. Russia's total gold reserves have collapsed to 74.3 million ounces, the lowest level since March 2022 — the month the full-scale invasion began. And the bigger picture is uglier still. According to Russia's own Ministry of Finance data reviewed by The Moscow Times, the gold held in the National Wealth Fund — the sovereign rainy-day pot — has been slashed by 71 percent since May 2022. From 554.9 tons down to roughly 160. Three quarters of the war chest. Gone. ---------- 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 ---------- SOURCES: The Moscow Times, "Russia's Gold Sales Hit Highest Level Since 2002 as Budget Pressures Mount," March 23, 2026 United24 Media, "Russian Central Bank Drains Gold For the First Time Since 2002 as War Deficit Mounts," March 2026 United24 Media, "Russia Liquidates 71% of Its Gold Reserves to Finance War Effort," January 21, 2026 Euromaidan Press, "Gold down 27%, Urals up 71% — Russia's sanctions hedge melts as its oil budget fills," March 24, 2026 UAWire, "Russia sells gold reserves for first time in 25 years to cover budget deficit," March 2026 NV / The New Voice of Ukraine, "Russia sells gold reserves for first time in 25 years to cover budget gap," March 2026 The Gold Forecast / Kitco News, "Russian restrictions on gold could exacerbate selloff," March 25, 2026 Arabic Trader, "Russia bans the export of heavy gold bars starting from this date" (Putin decree, TASS), March 2026 ---------- 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 We 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 ----------

Silicon Bites Ep318 | 2026-04-16 | The people who wrote Britain’s latest strategic defence plan just turned on the government that commissioned it. The dam of consensus broke at the Guildhall in Salisbury. A former NATO Secretary General — a man Sir Keir Starmer personally appointed to write Britain's blueprint for national defence — walked to a lectern, looked out at the room, and said: "We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe. Britain's national security and safety is in peril." That man is Lord George Robertson. Former Labour defence secretary. Former head of the most powerful military alliance on Earth. And the person who, alongside Fiona Hill and General Sir Richard Barrons, delivered the government's own Strategic Defence Review just ten months ago. They gave Starmer sixty-two recommendations. He accepted all of them. He promised to deliver them at — these were his words — "wartime pace." But then failed to deliver change at that speed or scale. ---------- 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 ---------- SOURCES: Sky News — "'Corrosive complacency' – Lord Robertson tears into Starmer and Reeves in extraordinary intervention on defence spending" (15 April 2026) Global Defense Corp — "Welfare payments chewed the defence budget. 'Corrosive complacency' towards British national security, Lord Robertson says" (16 April 2026) BritBrief — "Ex-Labour defence chiefs demand welfare cuts to fund military spending, warning security is 'in peril'" (14 April 2026) BritBrief — "Starmer rejects ex-NATO chief's warning that UK security is 'in peril'" (15 April 2026) GBNews — "Keir Starmer hits back at ex-Nato chief after attack on Labour's defence plans" (14 April 2026) Forces News — "Lord Robertson's critique on defence gives voice to AF community who can't speak out" (14 April 2026) The Independent / AOL — "Reeves digs heels in over defence boost despite fears UK security is 'in peril'" (14 April 2026) WSWS — "Labour peer George Robertson demands UK welfare spending cull to fund 'warfighting readiness'" (15 April 2026) ---------- 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 We 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 ----------

Marathon fundraisers for: Easter Pysanky Trucks 2026 https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/easter-pysanky-trucks-2026 Silicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampires?project=Jonathan%20Fink%20for%20Kupiansk%20Vampires ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/iwi https://www.patreon.com/iwi ---------- 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/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/iwi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwi/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/iwi Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/iwi Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/iwi ----------

Silicon Bites Ep319 | 2026-04-17 | Russia's Donbas ultimatum, America’s contradictions, and why JD Vance doesn't know what he's talking about. How do I know? On April 8th, from Budapest — standing alongside Viktor Orbán — JD Vance looked into a camera and said this: "We're talking about haggling at this point over a few square kilometres of territory in one direction or another. Is that worth losing hundreds of thousands of additional Russian and Ukrainian young men?" A few square kilometres. That's the Vice President of the United States describing the fate of millions of Ukrainian citizens, a fortified defensive belt holding back a Russian army of 680,000, and territory that — if surrendered — would give Moscow a launchpad for the next phase of its invasion. Two days later, Zelenskyy responded. "The Vice President, with all due respect, does not take part in the negotiations. If he were involved, he would probably have a deeper understanding of what Ukrainian territory actually is." ---------- 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 ---------- SOURCES: Kyiv Independent — "Russia sets yet another Donbas capture deadline while demanding Ukraine withdraw without fighting, HUR says" (April 17, 2026) Kyiv Post — "Moscow Gears Up for New Offensive, Eyes Total Donbas Control by September – HUR" (April 17, 2026) Rubryka — "Russia prepares spring-summer offensive and aims to seize Donbas by autumn – Ukraine's intelligence" (April 17, 2026) Ostro Info / Hromadske — "Russia intends to carry out a summer offensive and capture Donbas by September" (April 2026) UNITED24 Media — "Russia Gives Ukraine Two-Month Deadline to Leave Donbas, Zelenskyy Says" (March 31, 2026) Al Jazeera — "Russia claims to take full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region" (April 1, 2026) CFR Global Conflict Tracker — "War in Ukraine" (updated April 2026) RFE/RL — "Rubio Accuses Zelenskyy Of Lying About US Position On Bid To End Russia's War" (March 27, 2026) Kyiv Independent — "'That's a lie' — Rubio dismisses Zelensky's claims US security guarantees tied to withdrawal from Donbas" (March 27, 2026) Kyiv Independent — "Zelensky responds to Rubio's accusation of lying" (March 28, 2026) Euronews — "Rubio slams Zelenskyy's Donbas comments and says US may divert Ukraine arms to Iran" (March 27, 2026) The Irish Times — "'That's a lie': Rubio denies Zelenskiy claim US is demanding Kyiv give up eastern Donbas" (March 28, 2026) Kyiv Post — "Rubio Rejects Zelensky's Claim That US Linked Security Guarantees to Ukraine's Withdrawal From Donbas" (March 27, 2026) ---------- 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 We 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 ----------

Silicon Bites Ep316 | 2026-04-12 | Orbán falls: the strongman who ran out of tricks and cons. Another one bites the dust. Tonight, on the banks of the Danube, tens of thousands of Hungarians are chanting "Russian, go away" — and Viktor Orbán, the European Union's longest-serving leader, the self-styled architect of "illiberal democracy," the man Donald Trump's MAGA movement called the future of the West… has just phoned his rival to concede defeat. After sixteen years. After four straight victories. After rewriting the constitution, capturing the courts, gerrymandering the map, and turning state media into a personal megaphone — Orbán has been beaten. And not by a sliver. Not by a recount margin. By a landslide so wide that, in the words of his conqueror, it is "visible from the moon and every window in Hungary." The numbers first, because the numbers are staggering. With around 77 percent of precincts counted, Péter Magyar's Tisza party — that's the Party of Respect and Freedom — is sitting on roughly 53 percent. Orbán's Fidesz: 38. According to The Irish Times, Tisza is projected to take 138 of the 199 seats in Hungary's parliament. Fidesz collapses from 133 seats in 2022 down to 54. That's not a defeat. That's a demolition. And here's the kicker: Tisza is on course for a two-thirds supermajority — the exact same constitutional sledgehammer Orbán used to entrench himself for a decade and a half. Now it belongs to the man who wants to dismantle his machine that operated in favour of a corrupt clique and the Kremlin. Turnout? Over 77 percent by 6:30 in the evening — the AP and PBS both reporting it as a record in post-Communist Hungarian history. Magyar told the crowd in Budapest that 3.3 million Hungarians voted for him — more than any party has ever received in the country's democratic era. ---------- 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 ---------- SOURCES: Al Jazeera — "Peter Magyar's Tisza wins Hungary election as Viktor Orban concedes" (12 April 2026): PBS NewsHour / AP wire — "Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán concedes defeat after 'painful' election result" (12 April 2026) CNN Live — "Hungary election: Trump ally Viktor Orbán concedes landmark defeat after 16 years in power" (12 April 2026) NBC News — "Viktor Orbán concedes defeat as Hungary's Tisza Party heads for election win" (12 April 2026) NBC News — "After 16 years in power, Putin's closest friend in Europe faces a pivotal election" (11 April 2026) CBC News — "Hungarian voters reject Trump-Putin ally Orbán in favour of pro-West rival Magyar" (12 April 2026) The Irish Times — "Viktor Orban concedes defeat in Hungarian election as opposition heads for landslide win" (12 April 2026) TIME — "Far Right Leader Viktor Orbán Ousted by Voters After 16 Years in Power. Here's What That Means" (12 April 2026) ---------- 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 We 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 ----------