Podcasts about Donetsk

In part one of Red Eye Radio with Gary McNamara and Eric Harley, Russia warned Thursday that it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine if Kyiv uses long-range British cruise missiles against targets deep inside Russian territory, according to reports. This came a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of striking a shopping center in Russian-controlled Donetsk with British Storm Shadow missiles, wounding civilians, including children. Also President Trump signs an order to rename Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America' / Jill Biden opens up about her husband Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race—and the conversation that followed in their bedroom / and the US‑Canada trade war deepens as President Trump revives Depression‑era trade tool – what's at stake for consumers and the midterms. For more talk on the issues that matter to you, listen on radio stations across America Monday-Friday 12am-5am CT (1am-6am ET and 10pm-3am PT), download the RED EYE RADIO SHOW app, asking your smart speaker, or listening at RedEyeRadioShow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2006 Ukraine, beams split the sky. Time stopped. Something inhuman came to Earth — and took people from their homes.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/UkraineUFOsSOURCES and RESOURCES:“The Ukraine Alien Abduction” by Marcus Lowth for UFO Insight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p82rjjpVIDEO: UFO Spotted Near Explosion In Ukraine: https://weirddarkness.com/ufo-spotted-near-explosion-in-ukraine/(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: July, 2022Weird Darkness digs into Ukraine's decades-long record of UFO sightings and humanoid encounters, from a husband and wife carried aboard a disc-shaped craft outside their own front door, to horned figures stripping orchards near an ancient fortress honeycombed with tunnels, to a truck driver who described being walked across the surface of the moon by three men who had flagged him down for car trouble.It opens with the case reported in the June 20th, 2008 edition of the Ukrainian newspaper Facts, in which 34-year-old Vladimir Voronezhskiy and his 29-year-old wife Olga described being taken aboard a disc-shaped craft outside their home in the early hours of the morning. The evening began when their daughters Vanessa and Angelica came back from a nearby shop describing a "flying star", then drew matching sketches of a round object flashing white, yellow and red. Olga and Vladimir went outside and watched an object hovering over a distant river, and Olga's mobile phone captured only a blurred yellow smear. Around 2 am the bedroom filled with white light, the roof appeared to turn transparent, and the couple ran outside to find a disc hanging roughly 350 feet from the house. Olga rose into the air in a spiraling motion while Vladimir grabbed for her leg and missed, and the two of them found themselves inside a bare room with glass-like walls, surrounded by three-foot entities with gray skin, oversized heads and three fingers on each hand, moving without visible legs in the manner of a caterpillar. Olga was placed in a medical chair and watched the entities open an incision across her abdomen with instruments she had never seen before, feeling no pain, then close it so completely that no scar remained; Vladimir, held back by what felt like an invisible wall, was paralyzed by four metal rods laid on his chest after he struggled, and a voice entered his head promising he would be home soon. A taller figure, roughly five feet tall with its face fully covered, told him only that the procedures "had to be done". The couple were then seated in front of transparent walls where the sun looked like a diffused spot of light and the Earth appeared no bigger than a tennis ball, taken down to a world where the inhabitants lived in open pits below the surface, and told that humans and cattle alike had been brought to Earth from another planet. Vladimir refused repeated attempts to make him copulate with a female entity, even after it took the form of a beautiful human woman, and the conversation turned instead to human emotion and why our species has not yet destroyed itself. UFO researcher Yuriy Stepanov later placed Vladimir under hypnotic regression, which produced detailed sketches of the craft and its occupants along with the claim that a plasma field surrounding the ship rendered it invisible to the eye and undetectable on radar. Medical examination of the family turned up no implants, though Vladimir's gray hair regained its color, Olga's lifelong stomach pain never came back, and she claimed she could sober up a drunk person by resting a hand on his forehead for two minutes. Their neighbors mocked them for all of it.From there the episode backs up to the June 9th, 2006 edition of the same newspaper, which reported that residents across Mariupol spent an evening watching six disc-shaped objects over the city and jammed the phone lines of local papers with calls, while the Ukrainian Air Force and air traffic control at Mariupol Airport both said their radar showed nothing unusual; the next morning a watchman named Nikolay Trinitsyn counted around twenty fast-flying lighted spheres over an industrial district in full daylight, visible to his coworkers for about ten minutes before they were gone. Older encounters follow. In the summer of 1952, according to an account in Interesting Newspaper, a boy named Ivan Sergeevich was left alone at a campfire with an elderly woman after a sudden violent wind scattered the group's horses, and three helmeted figures about six feet tall walked out of a bright domed object rising from the woods, halted twice by handfuls of powder the woman threw into the fire to make it crackle. Around the same season in Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy, Komsomolskaya Pravda documented an insomniac watching five horned figures in his neighbor's yard, followed the next day by an apple tree stripped bare, part of a run of horned-creature sightings and vanishing food near a fortress that local legend says sits atop a network of secret tunnels used by creatures living underground and, in other tellings, by survivors of a UFO crash. Anton Anfalov of the Yaroslavl UFO Group recorded a three-day encounter in Zhdanivka in August of 1953, where Lina Ivanovna Kravets watched a silver globe descend behind the houses and a neighbor found three figures in dark overalls, gloves and helmets cutting fruit-laden branches from apple, plum and cherry trees while carrying wheat, rye and transparent tubes holding a frog, a lizard and a fish; in broken Russian they told her they had flown from up there, that they were searching for a lost scout ship they feared humans had destroyed, that Earth's wars affected natural disasters on their own world, and they offered her a piece of their bread before leaving. The segment ends with the 1971 Odesa catacombs account published in The Secret Doctrine, in which a young woman named Masha followed the sound of a child crying down a side passage, was struck from behind and disappeared for three days, later gave birth to a son with a large head, small mouth and outsized eyes who read academic material as a child, and who vanished in those same catacombs in the late 1990s and was never found.The final stretch runs through four more abduction reports and into the present day. Outside Chernivtsi in the early hours of January 8th, 1976, a glass-factory truck driver identified only as Nikolay N was woken by knocking on his cab window by three men who said their car had broken down, and was led instead to an upright cylinder with a glowing dome, blacked out on board, woke on a table wired with cables and devices, and was told he was at his hosts' base on the moon before being suited up and taken by elevator to the surface, where he could see the Earth's cloud cover; years later a man stopped him on the street and asked how his trip to the moon had been. On the night of April 17th into the 18th of 1982 in Simferopol, Crimea, researchers Vladimir A Borominskiy and Vladimir A Belozyerov of the Simferopol UFO Research Group documented electrician Yuriy Vasilievich Zbroy watching a shape push through his bedroom wall, touching it, feeling himself become magnetized, and then facing three creatures that emerged from a saucer the size of a toy and grew as they approached before telling him telepathically that they intended to take sperm for a hybridization program. In June of 1989 near Kharkiv, the Kirov UFO Group reported Ivan Rybchenko stopping his car for a descending luminous spot, stepping through two doors that opened in its side, being placed in a box lined with soft material, and waking to a tearing pain in his left hand before viewing an alien world dotted with communication towers and a base he was told ran automatically, without crew. In February of 1990, in an account from Gennadiy Ya Leszshenko's book At The Edge of the Unknown or What is Behind the Curtain, relayed by veteran researcher Albert Rosales, 68-year-old Ivan Nikanorovich went outside to quiet his barking dogs in the Donetsk region and was confronted by three figures around ten feet tall whose outer suits peeled away by themselves once aboard, and who flew him past planets before returning him home so ill he could not eat for three days. Sightings have not stopped: a white triangular craft with no wings, windows or markings was filmed over the country in August of 2019 and attributed by some to the rumored American TR-3B, two metallic objects roughly the size of a small van were filmed over Odesa in February of 2022, and on March 1st of that year a disc-shaped object was recorded from an apartment window in an area under shelling, hanging in the distance while the explosions went off below it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledges that Ukrainian attacks and sanctions are affecting his country's economy, while insisting there have been no critical consequences. In this special episode, we examine the economic pressures created by Russia's war in Ukraine, and look at how the conflict has transformed the drone industry, with Ukraine planning to produce millions of drones this year. (Photo: A firefighter works at a burnt-out hypermarket following an overnight Ukrainian drone strike, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled city of Ukraine, August 16, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)

A 22-year-old soldier from Drogheda, Co Louth, who fought for Ukraine in Donetsk, has been sentenced by the Russian authorities to 14 years' imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.Joining Shane for more on this is Freelance Journalist, Darragh McDonagh.

Mentre continuano gli attacchi mirati delle forze ucraine a obiettivi strategici come le raffinerie, colpita nella notte quella di Ryazan, nell'omonima regione russa, così come ai centri logistici, obiettivo ancora una volta una sede della Wildberries, l'Amazon russo, il presidente ucraino Volodymir Zelensky porta a casa promesse da Trump sui Patriot, in particolare – questa la sua richiesta – su un "pacchetto invernale" di emergenza con circa 300 intercettori. Tanto che - dopo l'incontro alla Casa Bianca - il presidente ucraino ha incontrato i rappresentanti di Lockheed Martin, l'azienda che produce gli Atacms, gli Himars, gli F-16 e i missili per i sistemi Patriot. Intanto, sempre Zelensky in un'intervista sostiene che “Putin perde 30.000 soldati al mese, sono perdite ingenti, eppure non vuole fermare questa guerra”. Sul fronte russo, il ministero della Difesa riferisce di aver preso il controllo di due centri abitati, nelle regioni ucraine di Sumy e Donetsk. L'agenzia Tass riferisce - citando sue fonti - di un possibile viaggio dell'inviato speciale del presidente degli Stati Uniti Steve Witkoff e del genero del presidente americano, Jared Kushner, Kushner in Russia nelle prossime settimane, anche se al momento - chiarisce la fonte - non ci sono certezze. Infine, Mosca annuncia un mandato di cattura per il capo di Telegram, ritenendolo “complice del terrorismo”.Ascolta "Notizie dall'Ucraina" ogni giorno su podcast.adnkronos.com e su tutte le piattaforme di streaming.

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Situasi di zona konflik Ukraina timur kembali memanas setelah Kementerian Pertahanan Rusia mengklaim telah merebut dua permukiman strategis di wilayah Kharkiv dan Donetsk. Klaim tersebut disertai rekaman drone yang disebut menunjukkan pengibaran bendera Rusia di wilayah yang diklaim telah dikuasai. Hingga kini, klaim tersebut belum dapat diverifikasi secara independen.

Adam McQuire and Holly Tann are British humanitarian volunteers from Liverpool who co-founded the non-profit organization Casus Pax. They have made numerous trips to Ukraine, delivering medical supplies, first-aid equipment, and educational materials to front-line regions including Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk.Beyond delivering life-saving aid, they have integrated into the local community and educational institutions in Zaporizhzhia, conducting first-aid and search-and-rescue training. Their specific contributions include: educational support, providing teaching equipment and STEM kits to secondary schools. First Aid Training: operating emergency skills classes for civilians, educators, and university staff. Academic Roles: serving as visiting professors at institutions like the National University “Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic”.Their grassroots organization relies on donations and business sponsorships to sustain its ongoing supply runs. You can follow their relief efforts and humanitarian missions on the Casus Pax Instagram or view their latest updates via the Casus Pax Facebook page.----------LINKS:https://casuspax.org/https://www.instagram.com/casuspax/https://www.facebook.com/p/Casus-Pax-100087930990574/https://buymeacoffee.com/casuspaxhttps://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/cpaxukrainehttps://www.linkedin.com/company/casus-pax/?originalSubdomain=ukhttps://physicsworld.com/a/from-the-lab-to-ukraines-front-line/https://zp.edu.ua/all-news/treninhy-navychky-nadannia-pershoi-dopomohy-v-ekstrenykh-sytuatsiiakh/----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/summer-sunshine-trucks-2026-malcolm-nancehttps://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/summer-sunshine-trucks-2026-silicon-curtain----------We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon 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-vampiresThese 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.----------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----------

Vergelding over en weer tussen Moskou en Kyiv | Russische activiteit aan de Baltische grens | Trump zet de NAVO-top op scherp Russische raket- en droneaanvallen op Kyiv en andere Oekraïense steden escaleren met nieuwe Geran-3 drones en meer ballistische wapens, terwijl beide partijen in een vergeldingslogica terechtkomen. Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk duiden hoe de Oekraïense luchtverdediging onder druk komt, de verliezen aan Russische zijde exploderen en de strijd verschuift naar strategische aanvallen en vestingsteden in Donetsk. Oekraïne intensiveert tegelijk de druk op de Krim door energie- en brandstofinfrastructuur aan te vallen, wat de positie van Vladimir Poetin en zijn ‘heldendaad’ uit 2014 direct raakt. Rob de Wijk schetst hoe nieuwe nucleaire wetgeving in Litouwen en Finland de spanning langs de NAVO-Russische grens opvoeren. De Russische blokkade van spoorovergangen naar Letland, Estland en Finland en troepenopbouw aan de grens voeden zorgen over verdere destabilisering in het Baltische gebied. Deze reeks schijnbaar kleine stappen vormt volgens Boekestijn en De Wijk een patroon van geleidelijke escalatie dat Europese veiligheid direct raakt. In het NAVO-dossier plaatsen zij Trumps aanval op het bondgenootschap, zijn dreigende taal over Iran en zijn eisen rond 3,5% defensie-uitgaven in de aanloop naar de top in Ankara. Arend Jan Boekestijn, Rob de Wijk en Hugo Reitsma bespreken hoe Nederland en Europa reageren, welke rol Mark Rutte en Turkije spelen en wat er gebeurt als Amerika zich verder naar de uitgang van de NAVO manoeuvreert. Het beeld van een steeds onbetrouwbaarder Amerikaanse veiligheidsgarantie maakt de discussie over Europese defensie urgent en prikkelt de verbeelding over hoe Ankara kan aflopen. [Samenvatting geschreven door AI en gecontroleerd door mens] Over de Podcast Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk gaan onder leiding van Hugo Reitsma op zoek naar de nieuwe wereldorde. Wat betekenen oorlog, machtspolitiek en economische verschuivingen voor Europa en Nederland? In elke aflevering duiken zij in de geopolitieke actualiteit. Genomineerd voor de Zilveren Reissmicrofoon 2026, winnaar van de Dutch Podcast Awards 2022 in de categorie Nieuws & Politiek. Word lid van B&W Plus op boekestijnendewijk.nl voor de zaterdag-podcast, reclamevrij luisteren, en vele extra's! Reageren? Op X: @ajboekestijn en @robdewijk Bluesky: @hugoreitsma.bsky.social Mail: boekestijnendewijk@bnr.nl Over de makers: Arend Jan Boekestijn is een Nederlands historicus en voormalig politicus. Hij studeerde geschiedenis en politieke wetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Boekestijn is voormalig Tweede Kamerlid (tot 2009). Sinds 1989 is hij verbonden aan de vakgroep geschiedenis van de Universiteit Utrecht en sinds 2016 lid van commissie Vrede en Veiligheid van AIV. Rob de Wijk studeerde eigentijdse geschiedenis en internationale betrekkingen, promoveerde op kernwapenstrategieën, werd hoogleraar in Leiden en richtte in 2007 het Den Haag Centrum voor Strategische Studies op. Hugo Reitsma studeerde rechten en politicologie. Hij werkte eerder als politiek verslaggever en vanuit verschillende conflictgebieden. Hij is auteur van het boek ‘Boekestijn en De Wijk voorspellen de toekomst’ (november 2023).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sheinbaum presume impacto de programa de viviendaAparece enorme socavón en la GAMRusia asegura avances militares en UcraniaMás información en nuestro Podcast#grc

Anastasiia Solianyk, a refugee from Ukraine, talks about the grief of losing the life she imagined, and the courage of building a new one with her family in Nebraska. Hers is a story not only of survival, but of how people carry memory, protect hope, and look for steadiness and community when the ground keeps shifting. Solianyk was born and raised in Ukraine and moved to the United States with her family in 2022. Her experience of displacement began much earlier, in 2014, when she had to leave her hometown in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Eight years later, after Russia's full-scale invasion, Solianyk and her husband and daughter were forced to leave Ukraine and begin again in America. Professionally, she works in manufacturing quality and has more than ten years of experience in the metallurgical and automotive industries. Outside of work, she enjoys playing piano and painting, and much of her life today is devoted to supporting her young daughter's figure skating journey. Now living in Nebraska, Solianyk brings a story of resilience, adaptation, family, creativity, and the difficult work of building a future after losing home more than once.

​ @ricktheukrainian is from Ukraine, and every Sunday gets together with his community online (the Rick Rollers), to make video content and raise funds for the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Rick is originally from Makiivka in the Donetsk area, and lived under Russian occupation for several years following the 2014 invasion of Crimea and Donbas. His weekly streams are attended by different Ukrainian and pro-Ukrainian guests. He talks about the Russian war against Ukraine and its culture, music and historic places. Rick translates and dubs Zolkin and Karpenko's interviews with Russian POWs into English, making them accessible to a Western audience, and providing extraordinary insights into the Russian mindset.----------LINKS:YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ricktheukrainianhttps://www.myminiauction.com/rickrollersauctions#item-167128Buy Me a Coffee (or become a member): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ricktheukr/membership----------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----------

C dans l'air du 17 juin 2026 - Tirs d'une frégate russe dans la Manche... Poutine perd ses nerfsAlors que le sommet du G7 s'achève ce mercredi à Évian-les-Bains, les tensions internationales continuent de s'intensifier, du Moyen-Orient jusqu'aux eaux de la Manche. Le président des États-Unis a ainsi menacé de reprendre les bombardements contre l'Iran si celui-ci « ne se comporte pas bien ». Une déclaration qui intervient au lendemain de nouvelles frappes israéliennes dans le sud du Liban, auxquelles l'armée iranienne a promis de répondre de manière « sévère ».Dans le même temps, les dirigeants du G7 ont affiché leur volonté de renforcer la pression sur Moscou afin de mettre un terme à la guerre en Ukraine. Le Royaume-Uni et Donald Trump ont notamment plaidé pour un durcissement des sanctions contre la Russie. Après un entretien avec son homologue ukrainien, le président américain a annoncé le rétablissement de certaines sanctions visant le pétrole russe, suspendues temporairement en raison de la hausse des cours du brut liée au conflit avec l'Iran.Londres a également dévoilé de nouvelles mesures. Le Premier ministre britannique Keir Starmer a confirmé la fourniture d'uranium enrichi à l'Ukraine pour alimenter ses centrales nucléaires, ainsi qu'une nouvelle série de sanctions visant plusieurs établissements financiers russes, des dizaines de navires accusés d'exporter pétrole et gaz russes, ainsi qu'un réseau clandestin d'approvisionnement militaire.Ces annonces ont été accueillies par le silence de Moscou, mais elles s'accompagnent d'une montée des tensions dans la Manche. Quelques jours plus tôt, des commandos britanniques avaient procédé, pour la première fois, à l'arraisonnement d'un pétrolier russe appartenant à la « flotte fantôme » visée par les sanctions occidentales. La France mène également ce type d'opérations depuis plusieurs mois afin de réduire les revenus pétroliers russes qui alimentent l'effort de guerre du Kremlin.Sur le terrain, en Ukraine, les lignes de front évoluent peu dans les régions de Kharkiv et de Donetsk. Mais la guerre se poursuit avec une intensité constante à travers les bombardements et les attaques de drones. Kiev subit depuis plusieurs semaines une recrudescence des frappes russes. L'une d'elles a notamment endommagé lundi la cathédrale de la Dormition, située au sein de la célèbre Laure des Grottes de Kiev, classée au patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco.De son côté, l'Ukraine intensifie ses opérations en profondeur contre les infrastructures énergétiques et logistiques russes. Raffineries, dépôts pétroliers et oléoducs sont régulièrement visés grâce à des drones de plus en plus performants. Mardi, une importante raffinerie située dans la région de Moscou a ainsi été touchée lors d'une vaste attaque ukrainienne. Kiev a présenté cette opération comme une réponse « juste » aux frappes russes menées contre son territoire.Alors, quelle est la situation sur le front ukrainien ? Jusqu'où les Occidentaux sont-ils prêts à accroître la pression sur Moscou ? Les sanctions économiques et les opérations contre la « flotte fantôme » peuvent-elles réellement modifier le rapport de force ? Donald Trump peut-il contraindre Vladimir Poutine à négocier ? Enfin, que sait-on du protocole d'accord entre les États-Unis et l'Iran ?Nos experts :- Dominique TRINQUAND - Ancien chef de la mission militaire française auprès de l'ONU, auteur D'un monde à l'autre chez Robert Lafont- Paul GOGO - journaliste, ancien correspondant indépendant en Russie de 2017-2026, auteur de « Moscou Parano » est publié aux éditions du Rocher- Isabelle LASSERRE - Correspondante diplomatique au Figaro, ancienne correspondante en Russie, autrice de Les fantômes de Munich publié aux éditions de l'Observatoire- Nicole BACHARAN - Historienne et politologue, spécialiste des États-Unis, autric

En Ukraine, face aux bombardements qui affectent les zones grises le long de la ligne de front, les autorités ont ordonné de nouvelles évacuations de civils dans les régions de Donetsk et de Kharkiv. Dans cette dernière, frontalière avec la Russie, sept villages du secteur de Borodukhiv, au nord-ouest de la ville, sont concernés, et plus de 7 000 personnes, dont plus de 1 300 enfants, ont reçu l'ordre de partir. De notre envoyée spéciale à Kharkiv, Depuis quelques jours, ce centre de transit pour personnes déplacées à Kharkiv, dans l'est de l'Ukraine, est en pleine effervescence : quotidiennement, entre 100 et 150 personnes évacuées y arrivent, dans le dénuement le plus complet. Yevheniia Kozun, du Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés, précise : « Récemment, nous avons constaté une augmentation constante du nombre de personnes évacuées. Nos partenaires continuent de leur fournir toute l'assistance nécessaire, y compris un soutien psychologique, des articles de première nécessité, l'inscription aux aides financières, ainsi qu'une aide pour la reconstitution de leurs documents. » Cette assistance est primordiale en raison de la vulnérabilité des évacués. Liudmila Oleksandrivna, une soixantaine d'années, vient de Prudyanka, à seulement cinq kilomètres de la frontière russe. Avec son mari paraplégique, elle fait partie des quelque 300 personnes à mobilité réduite concernées par l'ordre d'évacuation. « Il y a eu des frappes sur notre maison. Nous étions sur le point de partir, suite à un accord avec les volontaires », raconte-t-elle. Depuis leur arrivée il y a quelques jours, Liudmila et son mari attendent de recevoir une place dans un centre d'hébergement spécialisé. Eux qui n'avaient jamais quitté leur village n'ont, pour le moment, aucune perspective d'avenir. « Il est peu probable qu'on puisse y retourner. Il ne reste plus que deux personnes là-bas. Bon, peut-être qu'elles sont déjà parties, je n'en sais rien. C'est ça notre vie maintenant. Je ne sais pas comment nous allons vivre, nous n'avons rien emporté avec nous », confie-t-elle. Katia, 34 ans, et son petit garçon Sasha, six ans, sont également arrivés dans ce centre il y a quelques jours. Ils viennent de Zolochiv, au nord-ouest de Kharkiv. « Nous sommes partis dimanche dernier, car il était devenu impossible de vivre là-bas. Je suis une maman avec un enfant et des drones survolent la zone, détruisent toutes les maisons, les zones de jeux, les voitures. Les enfants sont soit confinés à la maison, soit dans les abris », explique-t-elle. Employée dans un magasin de bricolage, Katia, dont les parents ont refusé de quitter la maison familiale, a longtemps hésité avant de partir. « Même si vous avez une voiture et que vous voulez partir, c'est impossible d'atteindre Kharkiv et d'évacuer par la route : ils (les Russes) tirent sur des voitures civiles », ajoute-t-elle. Malgré cette menace, Katia a tenté sa chance : elle a roulé à toute vitesse vers Kharkiv. Comme des milliers d'autres familles ukrainiennes déracinées, elle et Sasha doivent repartir de zéro, sans travail, sans école, sans logement et sans leur famille restée à la merci des bombes. À lire aussi«On a l'habitude»: en Ukraine, la vie continue à Kharkiv, malgré les bombes et les drones russes

Il presidente ucraino, Volodymir Zelensky, ha proposto al suo omologo russo di mettere da parte la mediazione degli Stati Uniti, impegnati in Iran, e vedersi direttamente per trattare la pace. Putin si è detto favorevole ad un incontro a Mosca ma non intende rinunciare ai territori del Donetsk e del Lugansk, né a Zaporizhzhia e Kherson. Intanto, in Montenegro si discute dell'allargamento dell'Unione europea ai Balcani, mentre in Armenia, dove si andrà al voto domenica 7 giugno, il partito filo-occidentale del primo ministro uscente Nikol Pashinyan è dato per favorito. Ne parliamo con Anna Zafesova, giornalista esperta di Russia, Marilisa Lorusso, analista di Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, e con Giorgio Fruscione, ricercatore e analista di Ispi, esperto di Balcani.

Sint Petersburg onder vuur | Bij de Oekraïense 20e brigade | Opnieuw suggestie om te praten met Rusland Rusland voert zware raket- en droneaanvallen uit op Oekraïense steden terwijl Oekraïne met precisiedrones olie-infrastructuur rond Sint-Petersburg raakt. Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk duiden hoe de slag om energievoorziening en luchtoverwicht steeds meer het karakter van de oorlog bepaalt, met een vernederde Vladimir Poetin tijdens het Saint Petersburg Economic Forum. De NAVO-top in Kyiv en de zoektocht naar extra Patriot-systemen laten zien hoe nauw de verdediging van Oekraïne en Europa inmiddels verweven zijn. Rob de Wijk reist langs de frontlinie bij Donetsk en beschrijft hoe een Oekraïense ‘dronemuur’ de Russische opmars tot stilstand brengt tegen hoge morele kosten. Vernietigde innovatiecentra, clustermunitie in Dnipro en een uitgeputte burgerbevolking tonen de slijtage van een oorlog die steeds technischer en tegelijk steeds meedogenlozer wordt. Signalen over mogelijke onderhandelingen komende winter botsen met Moskou’s dreigtaal en een steeds fellere raketcampagne. In het Midden-Oosten bespreken Boekestijn en De Wijk hoe Iraanse aanvallen op Koeweit en Bahrein, Amerikaanse vergeldingsacties en Israëls voortdurende operaties in Libanon het wankele bestand uithollen. De gespannen relatie tussen Donald Trump en Benjamin Netanyahu, de tanende geloofwaardigheid van Reza Pahlavi en nieuwe stappen van de Republikeinen tegen ‘woke’ universiteiten schetsen een Amerika dat diep verdeeld is, terwijl de internationale orde verder onder druk komt te staan. [Samenvatting geschreven door AI en gecontroleerd door mens] Over de Podcast Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk gaan onder leiding van Hugo Reitsma op zoek naar de nieuwe wereldorde. Wat betekenen oorlog, machtspolitiek en economische verschuivingen voor Europa en Nederland? In elke aflevering duiken zij in de geopolitieke actualiteit. In 2022 werd Boekestijn en De Wijk uitgeroepen tot winnaar in de categorie Nieuws & Politiek tijdens de Dutch Podcast Awards Reageren? Op X: @ajboekestijn en @robdewijk Bluesky: @hugoreitsma.bsky.social Mail: boekestijnendewijk@bnr.nl Over de makers: Arend Jan Boekestijn is een Nederlands historicus en voormalig politicus. Hij studeerde geschiedenis en politieke wetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Boekestijn is voormalig Tweede Kamerlid (tot 2009). Sinds 1989 is hij verbonden aan de vakgroep geschiedenis van de Universiteit Utrecht en sinds 2016 lid van commissie Vrede en Veiligheid van AIV. Rob de Wijk studeerde eigentijdse geschiedenis en internationale betrekkingen, promoveerde op kernwapenstrategieën, werd hoogleraar in Leiden en richtte in 2007 het Den Haag Centrum voor Strategische Studies op. Hugo Reitsma studeerde rechten en politicologie. Hij werkte eerder als politiek verslaggever en vanuit verschillende conflictgebieden. Hij is auteur van het boek ‘Boekestijn en De Wijk voorspellen de toekomst’ (november 2023).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

(9) John Hardie discusses tactical developments in the Ukraine war, including the seizure of a Russian oil tanker by French special forces. Ukraine is successfully ramping up "middle strikes" (30 to 300 kilometers) to target Russianlogistics, air defenses, and electronic warfare nodes. These operations are bolstered by AI-equipped drones and the use of Starlink, which allow for strikes on dynamic targets beyond the operator's line of sight. On the battlefield, Ukrainianforces have recaptured territory in localized counterattacks on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.1855 CRIMEA

SCHEDULE THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 6-1-2026.1933 VALLEY FORGE(1) John Batchelor and Bill Roggio introduce the global landscape of current conflicts, noting that reporting on these issues is often marginalized by major newspapers. The segment focuses on Syria, where the self-appointed president, Al-Shara, is holding local elections in Kurdish-majority areas despite his background as a former al-Qaeda leader. Skepticism is expressed regarding Al-Shara's trustworthiness, with his efforts labeled as "window dressing" to appear as a legitimate ally to the West. Additionally, Assad-era chemical weapons were recently discovered in these areas, highlighting the persistence of weapons of mass destruction in the region. Seth Frantzman is also introduced as a key on-the-ground reporter for these events in Israel and Gaza.(2) Bill Roggio argues that the term "ceasefire" regarding the Strait of Hormuz is a misnomer, as the United States and Iran continue to launch fresh strikes against one another. Roggio characterizes the situation as confusing for the American public because officials claim a ceasefire exists while active military engagements continue. Iran is described as being in a state of open war in all directions, targeting the U.S., Europe, and regional neighbors. The segment concludes that the current messaging regarding the conflict is inadequate and fails to reflect the reality of ongoing violence.(3) Jonathan Sayeh reports that the U.S. blockade has caused a sharp decline in Iranian oil exports, though it has not yet reached a level of total economic catastrophe. The Iranian regime is demanding the total elimination of all sanctions and access to frozen assets in Qatar as a prerequisite for any behavioral changes. Sayeh notes that there is no longer a significant "reformist" camp within the government; instead, the IRGC and the Supreme Leader hold absolute decision-making power. The regime remains confident that it can absorb external pressure and continue funding its proxies and missile programs.(4) Jonathan Sayeh details the domestic situation in Iran, where the population recently endured their longest internet blackout, lasting nearly two months following a massacre in January 2026. Once connectivity was partially restored, citizens used social media to memorialize approximately 40,000 people allegedly killed by the regime during the unrest. Sayeh suggests that the Iranian people feel abandoned by Washington's claims that the goal of regime change has already been achieved. Consequently, the population is hesitant to mobilize without a clear signal and external backing for an armed resistance.(5) Samuel Ben-Ur assesses that Hamas's military wing has been degraded to the point of acting primarily as an internal police force in Gaza. The group's command structure has been "wiped out" following years of war and recent Israelidecapitation strikes, leaving only one pre-war senior leader, Immad Ael, remaining. To replenish its ranks, Hamas is increasingly recruiting child soldiers as young as 16 or 17. Despite these losses, Hamas continues to pay approximately 50,000 staff members and maintains control over the shrinking portion of Gaza not held by the IDF.(6) Samuel Ben-Ur explains that the Board of Peace has been inactive and is currently "without money" because its funding was predicated on Hamas disarming. Hamas immediately rejected a disarmament plan presented by the board, asserting that its weapons are an essential part of its "resistance." The group's political leadership remains protected in Doha, Qatar, due to U.S. security guarantees provided after a failed Israeli assassination attempt. Because Hamasrefuses to make any concessions, the $17 billion pledged for the reconstruction of Gaza remains withheld.(7) This segment focuses on the Americas, where a shift toward right-wing candidates is occurring in response to organized crime. In Colombia, presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella is leading in polls on a platform of anti-narco-terrorism and restoring the rule of law. In Brazil, the U.S. declaration of the PCC and Red Command as terrorist organizations is seen as a major "game changer" for upcoming elections. Candidates who advocate for close cooperation with the U.S. to fight cartels are gaining traction, while leftist leaders like Lula and Petro face increasing pressure.(8) Alejandro Peña Esclusa reports on a "slow-motion coup" attempt in Bolivia led by Evo Morales, whose supporters have placed the capital under siege. This instability is a major concern for Brazil because Bolivia serves as a primary source of the cocaine that fuels Brazilian organized crime. Peña Esclusa suggests that Morales's efforts will likely fail as the Bolivian armed forces and police eventually move to dissolve the blockades. Meanwhile, Brazil's President Lulafinds himself under pressure from the U.S. and internal factions, limiting his ability to support Morales.(9) John Hardie discusses tactical developments in the Ukraine war, including the seizure of a Russian oil tanker by French special forces. Ukraine is successfully ramping up "middle strikes" (30 to 300 kilometers) to target Russianlogistics, air defenses, and electronic warfare nodes. These operations are bolstered by AI-equipped drones and the use of Starlink, which allow for strikes on dynamic targets beyond the operator's line of sight. On the battlefield, Ukrainianforces have recaptured territory in localized counterattacks on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.(10) Ahmed Sharawi highlights Iran's persistent ambition to re-establish its supply highway through Syria to Lebanonfollowing the fall of the Assad regime. Sharawi reports that Iran continues to target Kurdish groups in Iraq, making Iraqi Kurdistan the second most targeted area by Iran after the UAE. In Syria, the government's recent local elections are described as a "selection" process aimed at showcasing a false political process to the West. This centralization of power under President Al-Shara is criticized for failing to represent the actual needs of the Syrian people and refugees.(11) David Daoud explains the linkage between Lebanon and Iran, noting that Iran treats a violation of a ceasefire in Lebanon as a violation of its own truce with the U.S. Hezbollah officially intervened in the conflict on March 2, 2026, specifically to protect the Iranian regime from U.S. and Israeli pressure. Hezbollah is described as Iran's "most potent asset" and a critical tool for its regional expansionist policy. While Iran may be willing to negotiate on its nuclear or missile programs, it is extremely unlikely to abandon its support for militias like Hezbollah.(12) David Daoud characterizes recent diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon at the U.S. State Department as "childish" because the Lebanese representatives refused to address the Israelis directly. On the ground, the IDF has captured the strategically significant Beaufort Castle and is employing a strategy of "creeping ground incursions." This new approach involves clearing areas of southern Lebanon to create safe launching grounds for deeper operations against Hezbollah strongholds. The goal is to prevent Hezbollah from regenerating and to slowly degrade the organization past the point of being a threat to northern Israel.(13) Peter Berkowitz examines two distinct intellectual critiques of the United States as it approaches its 250th anniversary: the postmodern progressives and the post-liberal right. The progressives argue that America is mired in systemic oppression and that its founding principles are the actual cause of its problems. The post-liberal right, conversely, views the nation as decadent and corrupt because it fails to recognize a higher religious authority. Both groups advocate for fundamental changes, with the right-wing critique specifically calling for the government to take a more active role in leading citizens toward virtue and salvation.(14) Peter Berkowitz notes that both the progressive and post-liberal right critiques share a common repudiation of America's founding principles of human freedom and equality. He argues that these critiques often occur in a "historical and comparative vacuum," ignoring that the U.S. remains a premier destination for those seeking personal liberty. Both sides demonstrate an intolerant "in or out" mentality, where individuals are either seen as part of the solution or part of the problem. Berkowitz maintains that the solution to America's cultural and political problems is a return to its founding principles rather than their rejection.(15) Peter Huessy discusses the confirmation by the U.S. government that China conducted recent underground nuclear tests. Huessy reports that China is building launch pads next to its missile silos, which nuclear experts interpret as a shift toward a "first strike preemptive strategy." This strategy is designed to use a nuclear umbrella to coerce the U.S. into standing down during conventional Chinese operations against Taiwan or other regional allies. China's nuclear build-up is compared to Russian tactics, where battlefield nuclear weapons are used as tools of blackmail and coercion.(16) Rick Fisher details the military nature of the Chinese space program, noting that the nation's astronaut corps is officially the Astronaut Brigade of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Fisher explains that China has utilized its space program for dual-use military benefits from its inception, viewing space as a potential battlefield. While Chinapublicly claims its space efforts are peaceful, its military planners have studied Western science fiction and militarization strategies closely. The segment warns that the U.S. and its allies must develop the capability to defend their space assets as China and Russia increasingly move to militarize the moon and low earth orbit.Three spelling corrections applied: (7) Aardo de Lasrea → Abelardo de la Espriella (the Colombian presidential candidate running on the anti-narco/rule-of-law platform) (7) Red Commandos → Red Command (standard English rendering of Comando Vermelho) (10) Akmed Shari → Ahmed Sharawi (matching how you spelled him in the preview earlier today) (16) Rick Fischer → Rick Fisher (matching the preview) One I'd flag but didn't change: Immad Ael in segment 5. I'm not confident on the correct transliteration of this Hamas leader's name from this source alone—do you want me to leave it as-is, or do you have the correct spelling from Ben-Ur's reporting?

The illusion of the Russian war machine is shattering. In Part 2 of our deep dive into the May 2026 reality, we strip away the Ministry of Defense's daily copium to expose an empire that is actively cannibalizing itself.From Roskomnadzor accidentally unplugging their own Z-patriot audience to the "Afghan Highway" where Ukrainian Hornet drones are systematically liquidating Russian logistics, the frontlines are paralyzed. The grand strategic victories of the "Second Army of the World"? They are burning entire brigades to capture a literal, empty pig farm in Donetsk.But the real collapse is happening inside the bunker. We break down the catastrophic 11-trillion-ruble budget deficit, the 1992 hyperinflation flashbacks hitting the State Duma, and the absolute absurdity of the Oreshnik missile hitting a garage cooperative (while propagandists generate fake AI craters to hide the embarrassment).We also do the brutal math on "Debt Meat." Why is the Kremlin paying 15 million rubles to send bankrupt alcoholics and escaped serial killers to the trenches, while veteran firefighters putting out burning oil refineries earn just $460 a month? Because Russia isn't a nation-state; it's a Neo-Feudal cartel fighting over the pirate treasure on a sinking ship.Stay cynical. Keep your eyes on the ledger.Become our patron:https://www.patreon.com/theeasternborderMerch store + another option for memberships:https://theeasternborder-shop.fourthwall.com/Follow what's going on here in the very border of Eastern Europe:https://bsky.app/profile/theeasternborder.lvDownload all episodes for free on our website; pictures accompanying certain episodes can be found there as well!http://theeasternborder.lv/Fund the Drones:Help the guys doing the actual heavy lifting on the ground. Tell them Kristaps sent you: https://car4ukraine.comSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

C dans l'air du 25 mai 2026 - Missile hypersonique: Poutine affaibli, plus dangereux que jamais?600 drones et 90 missiles se sont abattus sur la capitale ukrainienne ce week-end. D'intenses bombardements qui ont fait au moins quatre morts, plus de 100 blessés et de nombreux incendies. Les dégâts sont d'autant plus importants que Moscou revendique l'usage d'un Orechnik, un missile hypersonique à capacité nucléaire. La Russie dit avoir frappé Kiev en représailles à l'offensive aérienne ukrainienne d'une ampleur inédite qui a touché, la semaine dernière, le territoire russe. Plus de 600 drones s'étaient abattus sur 14 de ses régions centrales, la Crimée annexée, la mer Noire et Moscou. Vladimir Poutine avait promis une réponse après une frappe de drones ayant fait 18 morts dans la région ukrainienne de Lougansk occupée par les Russes."Crime de guerre", "escalade progressive"... L'Europe s'est insurgée après l'utilisation du missile russe à capacité nucléaire Orechnik. Volodymyr Zelensky de son côté a demandé à la communauté internationale de faire "pression" sur la Russie pour la dissuader d'utiliser son arme. Et cette stratégie militaire de Moscou a également été vivement contestée au sein même du camp russe. Plusieurs blogueurs militaires nationalistes influents ont qualifié ces frappes d'« extrêmement coûteuses » et de « militairement inutiles », affirmant que le tir d'Oreshnik sur la localité de Bila Tserkva ne visait aucun objectif stratégique d'importance. Ces mêmes sources ont rappelé que cette escalade intervient alors que l'armée russe essuie des échecs sur le front.Sur le terrain, les gains territoriaux de la Russie en Ukraine ont progressivement diminué ces derniers mois, et l'armée ukrainienne frappe désormais régulièrement en profondeur sur le territoire russe, révélant au grand jour les failles sécuritaires du Kremlin. Des tirs qui provoquent un malaise et de l'inquiétude dans la population russe, et sèment le doute sur la capacité du pouvoir à protéger le pays.Alors que sait-on du missile russe « Orechnik » ? Pourquoi la Russie a-t-elle utilisé, pour la troisième fois contre l'Ukraine, ce missile balistique à portée intermédiaire (IRBM) ? Est-ce une marque de fébrilité de Moscou ? Des analystes OSINT affirment qu'un missile Oreshnik lancé par la Russie aurait touché une zone occupée par ses propres forces près de Donetsk, en plus de la frappe dans la région de Kiev. Que s'est-il réellement passé ? Pourquoi l'Ukraine et l'Europe s'inquiètent-elles autant ? Parallèlement, l'Assemblée nationale a adopté, la semaine dernière, une rallonge de 36 milliards d'euros pour la défense d'ici à 2030, portant les dépenses militaires totales à 436 milliards.Dans les faits, le format des armées ne devrait pas bouger : 210 000 militaires d'active, 225 avions de combat ainsi que 15 frégates de premier rang. Mais l'accent va être mis sur les munitions comme les missiles, les obus et surtout la production de drones. Les combats en Ukraine ont montré l'importance de ces engins depuis quatre ans, et les attaques mutuelles de ces derniers jours témoignent d'un changement de dimension. Reportage ce soir sur l'ancien centre d'essais en vol de l'Essonne, devenu le terrain d'expérimentation des dronistes, avec le soutien du Secrétariat général de la défense et de la sécurité nationale, soucieux de renforcer les capacités de lutte antidrones.Nos experts :- Général Jean-Paul PALOMEROS - Ancien chef d'état-major et ancien commandant suprême de la transformation de l'OTAN- Vera GRANTSEVA - Politologue - Spécialiste de la Russie- Alain BAUER - Professeur émérite au CNAM, fondateur du pôle sécurité, défense et renseignement- Philippe GELIE - Directeur adjoint de la rédaction Le Figaro

628,330 views  Streamed live on May 18, 2026  #Mendel #TCC #Shelest#Arestovych #Shelest #War #Trump #ChinaFundraiser for a vehicle to support the logistics needs of the 5th Company, 420th Separate Battalion of Unmanned Systems

As Russia prepares for a large-scale spring offensive, a city near the frontline is preparing for the worst. Control of Izyum is vital for Ukraine as the link between Kharkiv and Donetsk. Izyum was occupied by Russian forces for six months in 2022. Ukrainian forces liberated it and exposed Russian war crimes. Now, that threat of occupation is real. Producer Amanda Bailly and Nick Schifrin report. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Artur Dron is a 25-year-old Ukrainian poet, essayist, and combat veteran. Born in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in western Ukraine. Graduated from the Department of Journalism at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Before the full-scale invasion, worked as event manager at The Old Lion Publishing House in Lviv — the publisher that would later issue Hemingway Knows Nothing. Saw combat across Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Seriously wounded in October 2024 by an anti-personnel mine. Endured multiple surgeries and a nerve transplant after shrapnel injuries. Demobilised in July 2025 due to disability — discharged on 4 July 2025, completing service that began on 2 March 2022. His poetry has been translated into at least ten languages.----------BOOKS: Dormitory №6 (2020) We Were Here (2023)Hemingway Knows Nothing (2025)LINKS:https://warpoetryukraine.org/https://pen.org.ua/en/members/dron-arturhttps://ukraineworld.org/en/articles/stories/poetry-ukrainianhttps://chytomo.com/en/review-of-artur-dron-s-book-hemingway-knows-nothing/https://www.arrowsmithpress.com/journal/artur-dronhttps://book.artarsenal.in.ua/en/guest-2023/artur-dron-2/To purchase Artur's book of poetry in UK: https://www.jantarpublishing.com/product-page/we-were-here----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon 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-vampiresThese 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.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampires----------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----------

As Russia prepares for a large-scale spring offensive, a city near the frontline is preparing for the worst. Control of Izyum is vital for Ukraine as the link between Kharkiv and Donetsk. Izyum was occupied by Russian forces for six months in 2022. Ukrainian forces liberated it and exposed Russian war crimes. Now, that threat of occupation is real. Producer Amanda Bailly and Nick Schifrin report. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In this edition of Knyzka Corner, Myra reviews Airport, Sergei Loiko's novel based on the 242‑day siege of Donetsk airport.Drawing on his experience as the only foreign reporter living with the defenders, Loiko depicts the Cyborgs' determination, the brutality of the assault by Russian troops and mercenaries, and the personal turmoil of his fictional alter-ego, war correspondent Alexei Molchanov.The review highlights the novel's blend of fact‑based detail, frontline observation, and the intertwined themes of courage, loss, love, and betrayal.Originally released in Ukrainian (2015) and Russian (2016), and translated into English by Alexander Cigale in 2018. Available on Amazon here (affiliate link).You can hear Pawlina's interview with Sergei Loiko recorded in 2016 here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Chapter 50, Ghost walks through the actual war that erupted in Eastern Ukraine following the 2014 Maidan coup, covering the timeline from the Donetsk and Luhansk separatist declarations all the way through the Minsk Two agreement of 2015. He breaks down the MH17 shootdown, the competing narratives around who fired the missile, and why the Western media's version may not hold up. Ghost also examines why both Minsk agreements ultimately failed due to unresolvable sequencing disputes between Ukraine and the separatists and explains how seven years of frozen trench warfare laid the groundwork for Russia's full-scale 2022 invasion. A methodical, plainspoken deep dive into one of the most misrepresented conflicts of the modern era.

Terence and Hesketh wax lyrical about Jaydee Canvot as his performances against Fiorentina and West Ham hit new levels. The trip to Florence is discussed as well as looking ahead to Donetsk in Poland next week in the Conference League semi final, before finishing on a review of the 0-0 draw against relegation threatened West Ham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chaos rond Iran | Amerikaanse bedrijven eisen heffingen terug | Pro-Russische winst in Bulgarije Iran sluit opnieuw de Straat van Hormuz en jaagt de olieprijs omhoog, terwijl de wapenstilstand in Libanon wankelt en Washington richting escalatie schuift. Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk schetsen hoe Iran de doorgang strategisch reguleert, een Amerikaans fregat uitdaagt en zo maximale druk op de VS zet voor sanctieverlichting en vrijgave van tegoeden. Trumps dreigementen tegen Iraanse bruggen en energiecentrales vergroten vooral de macht van de Revolutionaire Garde en de Iraanse haviken. In Teheran ontstaat een gevaarlijke dubbelmacht waarbij formele onderhandelaars buitenspel staan, terwijl generaals de koers bepalen. Trump raakt intussen verstrikt tussen oplopende benzineprijzen, een ongeduldige MAGA-achterban en interne strijd in zijn nationale veiligheidskring, waardoor de prikkel om militair te escaleren toeneemt. Oekraïne voert tegelijkertijd gerichte aanvallen uit op Russische olie-infrastructuur, schepen en een vliegtuigfabriek, terwijl de grondoorlog rond Donetsk en Koepjansk voorzichtig in beweging komt. Binnen Rusland vallen economische krimp, dalende populariteit van Poetin en openlijke kritiek op het Kremlin samen. In Europa zoekt Zelensky naar een eigen raketschild zonder Amerikaanse Patriots en schuift Bulgarije richting Moskou, maar niet buiten NAVO en EU. [Samenvatting geschreven door AI en gecontroleerd door mens] Over de Podcast Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk gaan onder leiding van Hugo Reitsma op zoek naar de nieuwe wereldorde. Wat betekenen oorlog, machtspolitiek en economische verschuivingen voor Europa en Nederland? In elke aflevering duiken zij in de geopolitieke actualiteit. In 2022 werd Boekestijn en De Wijk uitgeroepen tot winnaar in de categorie Nieuws & Politiek tijdens de Dutch Podcast Awards Reageren? Op X: @ajboekestijn en @robdewijk Bluesky: @hugoreitsma.bsky.social Mail: boekestijnendewijk@bnr.nl Over de makers: Arend Jan Boekestijn is een Nederlands historicus en voormalig politicus. Hij studeerde geschiedenis en politieke wetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Boekestijn is voormalig Tweede Kamerlid (tot 2009). Sinds 1989 is hij verbonden aan de vakgroep geschiedenis van de Universiteit Utrecht en sinds 2016 lid van commissie Vrede en Veiligheid van AIV. Rob de Wijk studeerde eigentijdse geschiedenis en internationale betrekkingen, promoveerde op kernwapenstrategieën, werd hoogleraar in Leiden en richtte in 2007 het Den Haag Centrum voor Strategische Studies op. Hugo Reitsma studeerde rechten en politicologie. Hij werkte eerder als politiek verslaggever en vanuit verschillende conflictgebieden. Hij is auteur van het boek ‘Boekestijn en De Wijk voorspellen de toekomst’ (november 2023).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2026-04-18 | UPDATES #176 | Easter lies, fratricide on the front line, and 667 reasons Ukraine's air defences are the best in the world. On Easter Saturday, Vladimir Putin declared a thirty-two-hour ceasefire. A humanitarian gesture, the Kremlin called it. The truce would begin at 4pm Moscow time and last through Orthodox Easter Sunday. There is a pattern to Moscow's announcements – major defeats are always labelled as humanitarian gestures.By 7am the next morning, Russia had violated its own ceasefire two thousand, two hundred and ninety-nine times. Twenty-eight assault operations. Four hundred and seventy-nine shelling fires on Ukrainian positions. Seven hundred and forty-seven kamikaze drone strikes. One thousand and forty-five FPV drone attacks. Near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk, Russian forces used first-person-view drones to attack unarmed Russian soldiers who were being evacuated from the front line during the supposed truce. They killed three of their own men. Then, four days later — on April 16th — Russia launched its most devastating aerial attack of 2026. Nearly seven hundred drones. Dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles. Sixteen dead, including a twelve-year-old boy in Kyiv. Over a hundred wounded. A drone slammed directly into an eighteen-storey residential building. Easter peace. Russian style. We're talking about a pattern of deception that stretches back more than a decade — and a Ukrainian air defence network that just shot down ninety-five percent of everything Russia threw at it.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------A REQUEST FOR HELP!I'm heading back to Kyiv next month, to film, do research and conduct interviews. The logistics and need for equipment and clothing are a little higher than for my previous trips. It will be cold, and may be dark also. If you can, please assist to ensure I can make this trip a success. My commitment to the audience of the channel, will be to bring back compelling interviews conducted in Ukraine, and to use the experience to improve the quality of the channel, it's insights and impact. Let Ukraine and democracy prevail! https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrashttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformationNONE OF THIS CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU!So what's next? We're going to Kyiv in April 2026 to film on the ground, and will record interviews with some huge guests. We'll be creating opportunities for new interviews, and to connect you with the reality of a European city under escalating winter attack, from an imperialist, genocidal power. PLEASE HELP ME ME TO GROW SILICON CURTAINWe are planning our events for 2026, and to do more and have a greater impact. After achieving more than 12 events in 2025, we will aim to double that! 24 events and interviews on the ground in Ukraine, to push back against weaponized information, toxic propaganda and corrosive disinformation. Please help us make it happen!----------SOURCES: Al Jazeera — "Russia and Ukraine agree to 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire" (April 10, 2026)Al Jazeera — "Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of breaching Easter ceasefire" (April 12, 2026)Euronews — "Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of breaching 36-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire" (April 12, 2026) Euronews — "Ukraine and Russia exchange prisoners ahead of Orthodox Easter ceasefire" (April 11, 2026) PBS News — "Orthodox Easter ceasefire falters as Ukraine says Russia continues drone strikes" (April 12, 2026) PBS News — "Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of Easter ceasefire violations" (April 12, 2026) ----------

Khristina uit Den Haag is commandant bij de Oekraïense luchtverdediging in Donetsk. Tijdens een kort bezoek aan Nederland spraken we haar over de drone-oorlog, de Europese veiligheid en hoop voor vrede in Oekraïne. Khristina vecht bij Pokrovsk in de frontlinie van de drone-oorlog en onderschept Russische Shaheds en Geran-drones met kleine FPV-interceptors. Zij beschrijft hoe Russische surveillancedrones met thermische camera's en Starlink verbinding urenlang boven de frontlijn hangen en raketaanvallen inleiden, terwijl Oekraïne in hoog tempo nieuwe antidronesystemen ontwikkelt. Die innovatiekracht maakt Oekraïne tot leidende macht op het gebied van dronetechnologie, met directe gevolgen voor de verdediging van de Donbas en van Europa. Khristina schetst hoe de oorlog sinds 2022 verschuift van grondgevechten naar luchtoverheersing door drones, waardoor medische evacuatie zonder robots tot veertig kilometer achter het front niet meer veilig is. Tegelijkertijd stokt de officiële bevoorrading. Nederlandse NGO's zoals Protect Ukraine vullen die gaten, terwijl trage Europese aanbestedingsregels botsen met het tempo van het slagveld. Khristina benadrukt dat Europese steun beslissend wordt voor zowel de Oekraïense verdediging als de toekomstige Europese veiligheid. Zij ziet Oekraïne uitgroeien tot kenniscentrum voor Europese defensie en pleit voor sneller, creatiever beleid in Den Haag en Brussel. Achter haar analytische blik als politicoloog schuilt de motivatie van militairen die al jaren vechten voor hun kinderen en voor een wapenstilstand die levens redt, een realisme dat het debat over Europa's rol in deze oorlog scherper maakt. [Samenvatting geschreven door AI en gecontroleerd door mens] Over de Podcast Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk gaan onder leiding van Hugo Reitsma op zoek naar de nieuwe wereldorde. Wat betekenen oorlog, machtspolitiek en economische verschuivingen voor Europa en Nederland? In elke aflevering duiken zij in de geopolitieke actualiteit. In 2022 werd Boekestijn en De Wijk uitgeroepen tot winnaar in de categorie Nieuws & Politiek tijdens de Dutch Podcast Awards Reageren? Op X: @ajboekestijn en @robdewijk Bluesky: @hugoreitsma.bsky.social Mail: boekestijnendewijk@bnr.nl Over de makers: Arend Jan Boekestijn is een Nederlands historicus en voormalig politicus. Hij studeerde geschiedenis en politieke wetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Boekestijn is voormalig Tweede Kamerlid (tot 2009). Sinds 1989 is hij verbonden aan de vakgroep geschiedenis van de Universiteit Utrecht en sinds 2016 lid van commissie Vrede en Veiligheid van AIV. Rob de Wijk studeerde eigentijdse geschiedenis en internationale betrekkingen, promoveerde op kernwapenstrategieën, werd hoogleraar in Leiden en richtte in 2007 het Den Haag Centrum voor Strategische Studies op. Hugo Reitsma studeerde rechten en politicologie. Hij werkte eerder als politiek verslaggever en vanuit verschillende conflictgebieden. Hij is auteur van het boek ‘Boekestijn en De Wijk voorspellen de toekomst’ (november 2023).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stray dogs in danger, Phone Call between Kobakhidze and Rubio, Arrest of Neo-Nazi group members, Russia's statement on Patriarch elections, Georgian company's deal with Russian occupied Donetsk.Thanks for tuning in!Let us know what you think and what we can improve on by emailing us at info@rorshok.com Like what you hear? Subscribe, share, and tell your buds.What's next for the Georgian Orthodox Church?: https://oc-media.org/after-ilia-iis-death-whats-next-for-the-georgian-orthodox-church/ The Fifth Annual Oxford-Georgia Forum: https://events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event/e46cf45b-5828-f111-88b3-7ced8d9a5614 Check out our new t-shirts: https://rorshok.store/We want to get to know you! Please fill in this mini-survey: https://forms.gle/NV3h5jN13cRDp2r66Wanna avoid ads and help us financially? Follow the link: https://bit.ly/rorshok-donate

Israël bombardeert Iraans gasveld | Iran waarschuwt olie-installaties in de Golf | Olieprijs schiet weer omhoog Israël bombardeert het Zuid-Pars-gasveld en schakelt meerdere kopstukken van het Iraanse regime uit, waardoor de energievoorziening van Iran en Qatar direct onder druk staat. Iran dreigt met aanvallen op oliefaciliteiten in Saoedi-Arabië, de Emiraten en Qatar, terwijl de olieprijs richting honderdtien dollar schiet en de Straat van Hormuz opnieuw strategisch breekpunt wordt. Donald Trump reageert grillig op de Hormuz-crisis, suggereert Iran ‘af te maken’ en relativeert het belang van de zeestraat voor de VS. Tegelijk zet hij Afrika onder druk door hiv-behandelingen te koppelen aan grondstoffendeals en flirt hij openlijk met een Amerikaanse exit uit de NAVO, wat de Europese veiligheidsarchitectuur op losse schroeven zet. Oekraïne boekt ondertussen terreinwinst bij Huljajpole en voert duizenden drone-aanvallen uit op Russische doelen, van Donetsk tot diep in de Oeral. De Russische legerleiding overspeelt haar successen aan het front, terwijl drones uit Oekraïne en gezamenlijke projecten met NAVO-landen de oorlogvoering verder veranderen en de druk op Moskou structureel opvoeren. [Samenvatting geschreven door AI en gecontroleerd door mens] Over de Podcast Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk gaan onder leiding van Hugo Reitsma op zoek naar de nieuwe wereldorde. Wat betekenen oorlog, machtspolitiek en economische verschuivingen voor Europa en Nederland? In elke aflevering duiken zij in de geopolitieke actualiteit. In 2022 werd Boekestijn en De Wijk uitgeroepen tot winnaar in de categorie Nieuws & Politiek tijdens de Dutch Podcast Awards Reageren? Op X: @ajboekestijn en @robdewijk Bluesky: @hugoreitsma.bsky.social Mail: boekestijnendewijk@bnr.nl Over de makers: Arend Jan Boekestijn is een Nederlands historicus en voormalig politicus. Hij studeerde geschiedenis en politieke wetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Boekestijn is voormalig Tweede Kamerlid (tot 2009). Sinds 1989 is hij verbonden aan de vakgroep geschiedenis van de Universiteit Utrecht en sinds 2016 lid van commissie Vrede en Veiligheid van AIV. Rob de Wijk studeerde eigentijdse geschiedenis en internationale betrekkingen, promoveerde op kernwapenstrategieën, werd hoogleraar in Leiden en richtte in 2007 het Den Haag Centrum voor Strategische Studies op. Hugo Reitsma studeerde rechten en politicologie. Hij werkte eerder als politiek verslaggever en vanuit verschillende conflictgebieden. Hij is auteur van het boek ‘Boekestijn en De Wijk voorspellen de toekomst’ (november 2023).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Musées, statues, monuments, noms de rue... La Russie s'installe de plus en plus dans l'espace géographique des parties des régions de Donetsk et de Zaporijia sous son contrôle, y compris le plus quotidien. Objectif : toujours mieux diffuser son récit historique. Un récit pivot dans sa narration officielle pour justifier son offensive en Ukraine. Marioupol, une rue tranquille dans le centre, et une maison aux allures neuves mais sans tapage : le musée Jdanov. 154 mètres carrés dédiés au natif de la ville, cadre important de la construction puis du maintien de l'Union soviétique, et proche de Staline. Vitrine du Kremlin dans cette partie de la région de Donetsk sous drapeau russe, Marioupol portait d'ailleurs sous l'URSS, de 1948 à 1989, le nom de Jdanov. Un immense buste de cette figure historique est visible dans le petit jardin du musée. Viktor Ignatyevich Mikhalenko, guide du musée, accueille et fait la visite. Antenne du Musée mémorial d'État de Saint-Pétersbourg dédié à la défense et au siège de Léningrad (NDLR Léningrad était le nom de Saint-Pétersbourg sous l'URSS), le lieu a été installé dans les décombres de l'ancien musée de la culture populaire, très abîmé par les combats lors du siège de la ville en 2022. Ce siège a fait au moins 22 000 morts civils d'après la municipalité ukrainienne en exil de Marioupol, et détruit ou endommagé 90% des bâtiments résidentiels, selon l'ONU. « En novembre 2023, Vladimir Vladimirovitch Poutine a chargé les autorités de Saint-Pétersbourg de reconstruire le bâtiment et de créer ce musée », explique Viktor Mikhalenko. « Des spécialistes de Saint-Pétersbourg ont tout créé, de la façade aux équipements informatiques en passant par les expositions que vous voyez ici ». Dans les deux premières pièces, des photos d'enfance et de famille, les livres lus et les médailles reçues par Jdanov, ainsi que de nombreux éléments sur le siège de Léningrad dont Jdanov a dirigé la défense pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale (« la grande guerre patriotique » pour les Russes). Sont présentées, entre autres, des cartes militaires. Depuis l'envoi de ses soldats en Ukraine, le pouvoir russe promeut particulièrement une image qu'il souhaite « plus positive » de Staline – et de ses proches comme Jdanov –, comme celle notamment d'un dirigeant présenté, tout particulièrement dans les manuels d'histoire scolaire, comme un bon chef de guerre. Promouvoir une image « plus positive » de Staline « Le musée a ouvert ses portes le 15 février 2025 », précise Viktor Mikhalenko. « Vous pouvez même lire ici le discours d'inauguration d'Alexandre Dmitrievitch Beglov, le gouverneur de Saint-Pétersbourg, dans lequel il a notamment dit : "Nous nous efforçons de transmettre aux visiteurs la vérité historique sur notre compatriote Andreï Alexandrovitch Jdanov." » La vérité selon la Russie se trouve dans l'inversion des termes, dans son effort de comparaison historique entre la Seconde Guerre mondiale et son « opération spéciale » en Ukraine. Dans ce musée, un projet limpide : faire l'analogie historique entre le siège de Marioupol en 2022 et celui de Léningrad sous la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Svetlana Alexandrovna Seledet, conservatrice du musée, résume : « Depuis la fin des événements militaires, Saint-Pétersbourg participe activement à la reconstruction de la ville. L'ouverture de ce musée en témoigne. Les deux villes sont aussi jumelées, et elles ont ce lien : elles ont survécu aux combats pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Nous, nous avons survécu aux événements de 2022. Les populations ont souffert dans les deux villes ». Changer certains noms de rue Sur un des murs à l'entrée, quelques témoignages d'une autre facette et d'un autre rôle de Jdanov que celui qui y est célébré par la Russie de Vladimir Poutine : des photos de ce bras droit de Staline lors du premier congrès des écrivains soviétiques en 1934. Jdanov y fixa la ligne culturelle du Parti communiste : l'art doit servir l'État. Les descendants des familles d'artistes réprimés sous l'Union soviétique, déportés au goulag ou exécutés, et ceux qui protègent leur mémoire, comme celle de la célèbre poétesse Akhmatova, ont qualifié l'ouverture du musée « d'insulte à leur mémoire ».  Nina Popova, présidente de la Fondation caritative des Amis du Musée Anna Akhmatova de la Maison de la Fontaine à Saint-Pétersbourg et son ancienne directrice pendant 30 ans, a elle déclaré : « C'est comme gifler une femme qui a tant résisté, qui a surmonté l'épreuve et qui n'a jamais oublié l'humiliation terrible qu'elle a subie. » Anna Akhmatova a évité la déportation, mais s'est vue réduite au silence. Viktor Mikhalenko affirme lui que les équipes du musée « ont fait des recherches » et « qu'à ce jour, il n'existe aucun document où Andreï Jdanov ait personnellement signé une quelconque liste d'exécution ». Comme dans de nombreuses villes des territoires sous drapeau russe depuis 2022, certaines des rues de Marioupol ont été rebaptisées. Aujourd'hui encore, certains habitants affirment se perdre dans leur propre ville, quand d'autres se montrent fatalistes et préfèrent souligner : « Quand ici c'est devenu l'Ukraine, [après la chute de l'URSS, NDLR], des noms de rues issus de l'Union soviétique ont été changés, pour des noms de héros ukrainiens. Et maintenant, les Russes reviennent aux anciens noms. » Installer ou réinstaller des statues Peut-être la conviction qu'il s'agit là d'un simple flux et reflux de l'histoire, avec chaque camp renvoyé à l'autre, comme s'il n'y avait ni responsables, ni coupables. Peut-être aussi une manière de se retrancher dans le propos le plus prudent possible, tant chacun mesure la sensibilité du sujet et tant les propos sont, partout, mesurés au trébuchet. Quand on ne refuse pas, et c'est souvent, de s'exprimer tout court. L'évitement et la méfiance face aux questions d'un interlocuteur inconnu sont devenus une règle. À Mélitopol, devenue la capitale administrative de cette partie de la région de Zaporijia sous contrôle russe, se dresse dans le centre-ville une statue dorée haute de plusieurs mètres : celle de Lénine. Devenue un lieu de rassemblement des pro-russes en 2014-2015, elle avait été enlevée de l'espace public par les autorités ukrainiennes, puis retrouvée par les fonctionnaires mis en place par Moscou qui l'ont réinstallée le 5 novembre 2022. Quelques semaines plus tard, le 17 décembre, elle était, de nuit, aspergée de peinture rouge. À l'époque, une babouchka rencontrée à proximité se permettait encore de rire de ce geste d'un : « C'est la jeunesse, ils sont énervés. » Certains passants évoquaient alors encore, sans filtre, le rôle de « partisans » dans des attentats contre les représentants des autorités russes ou leurs infrastructures, laissant en un mot échapper sans aucune équivoque leur opposition à la présence de Moscou. Plus de trois ans sous drapeau russe plus tard, c'en est terminé des allusions ironiques au geste de colère devant la remise en place de la statue de Lénine. L'évoquer, c'est s'entendre répondre le plus souvent de très évasifs : « Je ne me souviens pas. » Ou à peine un très timide : « Lénine était une personnalité ambivalente. » Un passant se fait un peu plus direct : « Aujourd'hui, de tels excès seraient certainement très improbables ». La Société d'histoire militaire russe partout à la manœuvre L'antenne locale du KPRF, le Parti communiste russe, a lui installé à Mélitopol le 9 mai 2025 la première et à ce jour seule statue de Staline dans les régions passées sous contrôle russe en 2022. « Staline est le vainqueur de la Seconde Guerre mondiale », dit Oleg Aleksandrovich Slusarenko, premier secrétaire du comité local du KPRF et élu local. « Sur le piédestal de sa statue, il est donc écrit : Au généralissime de l'Union soviétique, inspirateur et organisateur de la victoire du peuple soviétique sur les envahisseurs nazis, à Joseph Vissarionovitch Staline, ses descendants reconnaissants. » Visiblement très rodé à répondre aux critiques sur le bilan du dirigeant, Oleg Slusarenko affirme aussi : « Le système soviétique était jeune [à l'époque de Staline,NDLR]. Comme dans toute jeune civilisation, il s'y passait beaucoup de choses qui, en général, plaisaient à certains, mais pouvaient en contrarier d'autres ». Une affirmation dans la ligne des autorités russes qui ne nient pas les répressions soviétiques mais les minimisent, en les présentant comme une tragédie sans réel coupable, tout en glorifiant chaque jour un peu plus la puissance géopolitique et militaire de l'URSS. Reste que sur la question de la mémoire, on retrouve surtout à la manœuvre la Société d'histoire militaire russe. Fondée en 2012, là encore sur demande de Vladimir Poutine, elle est aujourd'hui dirigée par Vladimir Médinsky, l'historien préféré du chef de l'État russe. Certains observateurs vont jusqu'à lui prêter une proximité idéologique telle avec Vladimir Poutine qu'ils avancent qu'il serait à l'origine de l'essai du président publié en 2021 et titré : De l'unité historique des Russes et des Ukrainiens. Y est développé tout l'argumentaire tant mis en avant par le Kremlin pour justifier l'envoi de ses soldats en Ukraine, comme celui que Russes et Ukrainiens ne formeraient qu'un seul peuple ; ou encore que l'Ukraine n'est pas un pays mais une création artificielle des bolcheviks, et ne peut donc avoir d'aspiration propre.  Vladimir Médinsky est aussi l'inflexible chef de file des négociateurs russes sur les pourparlers de la fin de la guerre en Ukraine. Dans les régions prises par Moscou depuis 2022, ses hommes sont en tout cas partout. À Mélitopol, ils installent très activement de nombreux monuments et des statues, comme un buste de Pavel Soudoplatov en plein centre-ville. Sous Staline, Soudoplatov était un haut responsable féroce des services de renseignements. Ce natif de Mélitopol est notamment connu pour avoir réprimé avec acharnement le mouvement national ukrainien et ses militants, y compris hors des frontières de l'Union soviétique. Pour l'un des membres de la société historique russe locale, Valeri Vladimirovitch Belostennyi : « Avant nous, on a essayé ici d'inculquer aux enfants une culture différente, un intérêt pour les héros Marvel ou James Bond. Mais nous avons notre propre James Bond, un vrai héros, et il faut montrer ses activités aux enfants, pour leur apprendre à aimer leur histoire. Après tout, bon nombre d'opérations importantes ont été menées directement sous sa supervision et parfois par lui-même directement. Personne ne lui avait jamais appris comment être un officier du renseignement, mais lui, il a formé une galaxie colossale de personnes ». Depuis 2023, Volodymyr Zelensky a pris de nombreuses sanctions contre la Société d'histoire militaire russe en tant qu'entité, ainsi que contre certains de ses membres. Au début de ce mois de mars 2026, le président de l'Ukraine a également placé sur sa liste de sanctions tous les responsables des branches de la Société d'histoire militaire russe dans les régions passées sous drapeau russe en 2022, ainsi que ceux de la Crimée. Kiev qualifie l'organisation d'« outil de propagande révisionniste, contribuant à justifier l'invasion à grande échelle ». À Mélitopol, Yuriy Petrovich Volodovsky, directeur exécutif de la branche de Zaporijia, fait lui déjà la liste de tous ses prochains projets. Beaucoup d'entre eux visent la jeunesse.        

Silicon Bites Ep301 | 2026-03-13 | Let's be precise. The whole front is not collapsing. But on one crucial stretch of the southern battlefield, Russian defences have very clearly been breached, rolled back, and thrown into disorder. Ukraine's 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skelya” says it has liberated Ternove in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, after a hard-fought assault on the Oleksandrivka axis — the borderland where Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts grind into one another.Local public broadcaster Suspilne Dnipro reported the liberation on 11 March, citing the regiment and an on-air interview with battalion commander Andrii Kiianenko. (Суспільне | Новини)What's confirmed? Ukrainian forces have been conducting a sustained counteroffensive on this axis since late January. Ukraine's military leadership says more than 400 square kilometres have been retaken on the broader front. Ukrainian and outside analysts say the initiative on this sector has shifted, at least locally, toward Kyiv. Ternove is now being reported as back under Ukrainian control. (Pravda)----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------SOURCES:Suspilne Dnipro, 11 March 2026 — report on Ternove's liberation and interview with battalion commander Andrii Kiianenko.UA.NEWS, 11 March 2026 — regiment-linked account of the operation, including Jan. 30 start date, 200 assault troops, three-day clearing phase, ongoing counterattacks, and preliminary casualty claims. Ukrainska Pravda, 9 March 2026 — Syrskyi on the Oleksandrivka counteroffensive and 400+ sq km regained. Kyiv Independent, 10 March 2026 — Emil Kastehelmi analysis and reporting that Ukraine pushed Russian troops from most occupied parts of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Ukrinform, 10 March 2026 — Voloshyn on active counterattacks along the Dnipropetrovsk–Zaporizhzhia border and Huliaipole sector. RBC-Ukraine, 11 March 2026 — ISW-linked mapping update on advances around Ternove and broader front geometry.Kyiv Post, 10 March 2026 — Komarenko interview summary on the planned offensive, 400+ sq km regained, and the “buffer zone” logic. ----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur 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/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----------

Ukraine has lost close to a quarter of its civilian workforce since the invasion. Three and a half million workers left government-controlled areas: mobilised into the armed forces, displaced inside the country, gone abroad as refugees, or killed. Giacomo Anastasia, Tito Boeri, and Oleksandr Zholud draw on an unprecedented wartime dataset to document how Ukraine's labour market adapted under that pressure. What they find is not what you might expect. Aggregate matching efficiency fell by only about 15%; less than the decline recorded in the United States during the 2008 financial crisis. Firms hired women into roles previously closed to them by law, took on older workers and people with disabilities, and expanded remote work to keep displaced employees and refugees connected to Ukrainian payrolls. The collapse was real, but concentrated: in contested territories near the frontline, employment fell to less than half its pre-war level and vacancy postings dropped to virtually zero. The question the paper poses for reconstruction is how to sustain that resilience, absorb close to a million returning soldiers, and begin to reverse what five years of disrupted schooling has done to a generation.The research behind this episode:Anastasia, Giacomo M., Tito Boeri, and Oleksandr Zholud. 2026. "A Wartime Labor Market: The Case of Ukraine." Economic Policy: Papers on European and Global Issues, special issue: "What's Next for Ukraine?"To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim. 2026. "What's Next for Ukraine: A Wartime Labour Market." Economic Policy: Papers on European and Global Issues (podcast).Assign this as extra listening. The citation above is formatted and ready for a reading list or VLE.About the guestsGiacomo Anastasia is a PhD student in Economics at Columbia University and Columbia Business School. His research interests include public economics, labour economics, and industrial organisation.Tito Boeri is Professor of Economics at Bocconi University and one of Europe's leading authorities on labour markets, unemployment insurance, and welfare state reform. He served as President of INPS, Italy's national social security institution, from 2015 to 2019.Oleksandr Zholud is a researcher at the National Bank of Ukraine. He was central to maintaining the economic data systems that continued to function through the war, and which made the empirical work in this paper possible. Research cited in this episodeThe civilian labour force contraction is estimated at roughly twenty to twenty-five per cent of the pre-war workforce in government-controlled areas, equivalent to a loss of around 3.5 million workers. The calculation combines refugees abroad (between six and seven million, of whom approximately seventy per cent are of working age), military mobilisation (at least 800,000 since 2022, up from 250,000 before the war), and combat casualties. The authors note that a shock of this scale has almost no modern precedent; the closest comparisons are Serbia's losses in the First World War and the economic disruption caused by the 1994 Rwandan genocide.Work.ua is the largest online job-search platform in Ukraine, covering around 125,000 firms and 4.5 million workers. The paper draws on weekly data from Work.ua on vacancy postings, job-seeker resumes, and offered and expected wages to track labour market dynamics across sectors and regions throughout the war. This platform data continued to be updated through the conflict and provided the primary source for the paper's matching analysis, replacing the State Statistics Service household survey, which suspended publication after the invasion.The InfoSapiens household survey, commissioned by the National Bank of Ukraine since 2021, serves as the wartime replacement for the State Statistics Service quarterly Labour Force Survey. It interviews around 1,000 individuals per quarter on employment, unemployment, and labour force participation, stratified by gender, age, region, and settlement size. Despite its smaller sample, it remains the primary regular survey-based source on Ukraine's labour market since the full-scale invasion.The State Employment Service (SES) firm survey, conducted in January 2025 in cooperation with Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, covered 55,000 enterprises employing 4.2 million workers plus 70,000 registered unemployed persons. This cross-sectional survey provided the paper's evidence on how recruitment practices, remote work adoption, and workforce composition changed after the invasion; it is described in the paper as one of the largest wartime enterprise surveys of its kind.Air raid alarm data are used as the paper's proxy for regional exposure to the war. When missiles or drone attacks are detected, sirens activate across affected areas; the authors use the frequency and duration of these alarms to classify Ukrainian regions on a spectrum from low-exposure (western oblasts such as Lviv) to high-exposure (eastern regions such as Kharkiv) to contested (partially or fully occupied territories including parts of Donetsk and Luhansk). This classification is the basis for the paper's finding that war intensity is the primary driver of differences in labour market outcomes across regions.Matching efficiency is a standard labour economics measure of how effectively the market converts a given stock of unemployed workers and open vacancies into new hires. A fall in matching efficiency means that jobs and workers exist but find each other more slowly. The paper estimates that Ukraine's aggregate matching efficiency declined by about fifteen per cent after the invasion; a smaller fall than the more than twenty per cent recorded in the United States during the 2008 financial crisis, though with severe deterioration concentrated in frontline and contested regions, where matching efficiency dropped by close to twenty-five per cent.Remote work as a retention mechanism. A survey of Ukrainian refugees abroad found that roughly forty per cent of those in employment were working for Ukrainian firms remotely. Those maintaining an employment link to a Ukrainian company reported a significantly higher intention to return to Ukraine after the war compared with refugees employed by foreign firms. Anastasia argues this makes remote work not only an economic adaptation but a tool for sustaining the connection between displaced workers and the country they may one day return to rebuild.More in the "What's Next for Ukraine?" seriesThis episode is the third and final in a series based on papers presented at the inaugural Economic Policy winter conference, Paris, December 2025.Episode 1, with Yuriy Gorodnichenko and Maurice Obstfeld: why $40 billion a year in investment is more achievable than it sounds, why deep debt restructuring is a prerequisite for attracting private capital, and what the Euroclear frozen assets could unlock. Episode 2, with Edward Glaeser, Martina Kirchberger, and Andrii Parkhomenko: why the right model for rebuilding Ukraine's cities is postwar Tokyo rather than postwar Berlin or Warsaw, and why directing reconstruction spending towards the most damaged regions would be rebuilding in the wrong direction. Related reading on VoxEUThe labour market in Ukraine: Rebuild better, the companion VoxEU column by Anastasia, Boeri, and Zholud, summarising the paper's findings on matching efficiency, firm adjustment, and the policy priorities for reconstruction. You only live twice: A growth strategy for Ukraine, Gorodnichenko and Obstfeld's companion column to Episode 1, making the case for $40 billion a year in investment and explaining why EU and NATO accession momentum is the key enabling condition.Rebuilding cities in Ukraine, a VoxEU column on the spatial and urban decisions that will shape how Ukraine's cities develop in the decades after the war, and why the Tokyo model of decentralised land readjustment is the right precedent.

Greetings, Comrades!It finally happened. The "Second Army of the World" has achieved total independence from Western technology—by getting kicked off the server.In this episode, we break down the "Double Tap" strike that has left the Russian military deaf, blind, and screaming into dead radios. First, SpaceX implemented the "White List" protocol, turning thousands of smuggled Starlink terminals into expensive paperweights and blinding Russian artillery. Then, in a moment of bureaucratic genius, Roskomnadzor decided to "slow down" Telegram to fight NATO narratives—accidentally crippling their own army's only functional command-and-control system.We dive deep into the chaos of the "Analog Gold Rush," where ancient Soviet field phones are trading for the price of used cars, and Baofeng radios are the new Bitcoin. We also cover the assassination of GRU General Alekseyev (the "Spies killing Spies" moment), the "Pink Pony" reality of Dmitry Peskov, and the terrifying return of the "Time of Troubles."The Red Lines have turned to Brown Lines. The subscription is cancelled. Happiness is Mandatory.In this episode:The Kill Switch: How the Starlink "White List" crashed the Grey Market.Friendly Fire: Why blocking Telegram is an act of self-sabotage.The Analog Gold Rush: Why a $20 radio now costs $300 in Donetsk.High Politics: The assassination of General Alekseyev.The "Sausage Butt" Theory: Confirmed.Support the Show & The Cause:Trucks, not telegrams. Help Car4Ukraine turn pickup trucks into mobile machine-gun nests and medevac units for the guys who actually have Starlink:

Greeting Comrades, and welcome to the frozen bunker in Ludza.In this episode, we aren't just analyzing the collapse of the Russian Empire; we are physically fighting General Winter. While the temperature hits -24°C outside my window, I had to turn a household Philips vacuum cleaner into a tactical flamethrower to save my heating system from exploding.Meanwhile, across the border, the "Energy Superpower" is burning down its own grid. We dive into the "Alpen Gold Index" (why cheap chocolate is now a luxury asset), the "Crypto-Khans" of Ingushetia destroying the power network to mine Bitcoin, and the horrifying new casualty figures—1.2 million dead and wounded—that the Kremlin is trying to hide.We also look at the "Virtual Reality" war where General Gerasimov captures fake cities, the 14-nation naval blockade that just bricked up Russia's "Window to Europe," and the surreal silence of Russian propaganda as a boy from Donetsk knocks Real Madrid out of the Champions League.IN THIS EPISODE:Operation Pilda Dragon: How I fixed a pellet boiler disaster with a vacuum cleaner and an inner tube.The 500-Ruble Chocolate: Varlamov, the "Tax Apocalypse," and the death of the middle class.The Meat Grinder: New data reveals 1.2 million Russian casualties and a terrifying 1:1 death ratio.The Tech Trap: Why Russian volunteers are crying about "Mavic Hunters" destroying their drones on Day 1.The Baltic Blockade: 14 nations declare the "Shadow Fleet" stateless. The window is closed.Sports Psy-Ops: Jose Mourinho, the Donetsk goalkeeper "Tolya" Trubin, and the erasure of Ukraine on Russian TV.The Final Betrayal: Trump orders an "Energy Truce," Putin obeys, and the Z-Patriots lose their minds.

2026-01-29 | UPDATES #118 | Russia's advance slows to a nine-month low — signs of an army crisis, and why major 2026 offensives may be running out of road. Today is day 1,435 of Russia's full-scale invasion. That's not a milestone, but an inditement of political failure and industrial-scale human waste. The “unstoppable Russian offensive” narrative is hitting a wall. This fact stunned me last week, that the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany lasted 1,418 days. This war has now outlasted that — with nothing like the strategic gains, and with Russia's army moving in distance measured in meters, not kilometers.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------SOURCES: UK Parliament Hansard (Jan 29, 2026) — “Today is 1,435 days…” CSIS report (PDF): Russia's Grinding War in Ukraine (published Jan 27, 2026) Business Insider (Jan 29, 2026) summarizing CSIS pace comparisons Associated Press (via AP News, Jan 28, 2026) on CSIS casualty estimatesThe Guardian (Jan 28, 2026) on casualty totals approaching 2m ISW / Critical Threats (Jan 27, 2026) — Donetsk timeline; “lies and exaggerations”; observed vs claimed gains Russia Matters — War Report Card (Jan 28, 2026) territory gained metrics Euromaidan Press (Jan 28, 2026) — nine-month low pace claim (km²/day) Ukraine President's site (Jan 26, 2026) — drones destroying “more than 80%” of enemy targetsDefense News (Jan 28, 2026) — drone share of destroyed targets CSIS LinkedIn post (last 48h) — “extraordinary price for minimal gains” framing Kyiv Post (Jan 29, 2026) — false “captured” claims and battlefield risk (Kupyansk) ----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2026 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur 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----------

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger Picture The UK temps for the green new scam are fake, the manipulated the data to push the scam, it has now been exposed. Fake news has no choice to tell the people that the economy has been improving. Trump is getting to move the economic system to the new system which will include sound money. The [DS] is now using everything they have to stop the Trump and his team. Judges are now dictating that the President doesn’t have the authority to remove someones security clearance. The Supreme Court just set the stage for Trump to use the insurrection act when the enemy pushes the insurgency. Never interfere with an enemy while they are in the process of destroying themselves. Economy https://twitter.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/2003668549857055223?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");   uncertainties of 2°C to 5°C. That’s not a typo – 5 degrees Celsius of potential error. Only 19 pristine Class 1 sites remain capable of measuring actual ambient air temperature accurately. The rest? Located on airport runways, walled gardens, next to main roads, and inside solar farms. Places where concrete, engines, and infrastructure create artificial heat islands that have nothing to do with atmospheric temperature changes. The Met Office database also contains data from over 100 stations that don’t exist. They’re using “estimated” temperatures from unidentified neighboring stations and presenting it as real data. When journalist Ray Sanders started asking questions through Freedom of Information requests, the Met Office dismissed them as “vexatious” and “not in the public interest.” After media inquiries, the Met Office quietly removed estimated data from 3 non-existent stations. Of 17 new sites opened since April 2024, nearly 65% were immediately placed in the worst quality categories. UK Science Minister Lord Patrick Vallance is calling scrutiny of this mess “misinformation” that weakens trust in science. Perhaps what actually weakens trust in science is using temperature readings from imaginary thermometers next to jet engines to justify trillion-pound Net Zero policies that reshape the entire economy. The data might be fine for tomorrow’s weather forecast. Using it to revolutionize Britain’s energy infrastructure? That requires stations that actually exist. https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/2003537920624677163?s=20 https://twitter.com/JeffPasquino/status/2003667251426197766?s=20   dollars” already – language and words are important – but this time the difference will be to the benefit of stablecoin holders. “But if it is pegged to the dollar, why will it matter?” you might wonder. That's a great question. The difference will be that today's bank accounts are in Federal Reserve “dollars”, which are debt-based, inflationary and losing value at a rapid pace. The new digital dollar stablecoins will be backed by gold or other assets (yet to be defined, but it's clearly how they're heading) and the purchasing power will go up. This is the first step out of the debt-based system enslaving most Americans – and by extension of the world reserve currency, most everyone in the Western world. People will eventually see that the asset-backed “digital dollar” is far superior to the Federal Reserve dollar. Once noticed, stablecoin dollars will be hoarded while Fed dollars will flood the market (Gresham's Law). No one will want the dying dollar -or any debt denominated in it – and much like the rise of gold and silver now against the Fed dollar, the digital dollar will also rise in value. Then everyone will transition, by choice, to an asset-backed currency without even knowing why they want those new dollars – they will just know that they hold value better. In other words, the “digital dollar” will actually be a store of value – evidence that it is actual money, not just a currency. Fix the money, fix the world. Political/Rights https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2003631214939218223?s=20   amounts to a green light for radical activists already attacking federal officers to escalate. The incident has triggered mounting calls for Frey to resign. https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2003595914582364475?s=20 https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2003559651586286006?s=20 https://twitter.com/TheSCIF/status/2003513211757134259?s=20   social media. No corroboration exists, no limo driver testimony, no Oklahoma death matching description. This story was a distorted version of another hoax that was debunked years ago. They are desperate and have nothing, and they know it and resort to literal A.I. pictures and confirmed hoaxes that have been debunked YEARS ago in an attempt to slander Trump because they are paid to and lie right TO YOUR FACE. You better wake up and stop listening to people who are paid to lie to you and telling you to stop asking questions. The truth ALWAYS prevails. https://twitter.com/TheSCIF/status/2003773196210692274?s=20  claimed he knew the 2nd Oklahoma City bomber. There was NO collaboration, NO limo driver testimony, and NO deaths in Oklahoma that even matched any real deaths. And they always pop up right before an election. Even the whole Trump on Epstein’s plane drama. YES, Trump never was on the Lolita Express. Epstein owned 5 aircraft. Trump took 7 trips between 1993 and 1997. Never with any underage girls or women, only family. Epstein didn’t even own the island until 1998. The flight logs have been out. They’re just recycling old information and acting like it’s new. How naive can you be? And how lame can you be for posting it? You’re not a journalist. You’re a fraud. The mainstream and every account pushing these lies didn’t verify their claims and authenticity before posting? Or did they know and were just hoping YOU wouldn’t check to push a false narrative? DOGE https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2003500113680085072?s=20 Geopolitical Disgraced Former Prince Andrew Stripped of His Gun License, Can Only Use Firearms Under Supervision Andrew had his gun license stripped by Met police. The hunter becomes the hunted. For his long association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is facing a long list of repercussions that seem to have no end. Now, the avid hunter has surrendered his firearms license to the Met Police – the same police force who dropped the investigation into his alleged crimes. The Telegraph reported: “The former Duke of York, 65, agreed to give up his firearms and shotgun certificates last month after he was visited by the Metropolitan Police at Royal Lodge in Windsor.   Andrew in Sandringham on the lap of five redacted women – presumably Epstein victims. Daily Mail reported:   Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/RobSchneider/status/2003720679892615609?s=20 https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2003737409440350530?s=20   commissioner who crafted Europe’s Digital Services Act, basically a censorship framework disguised as content moderation. Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate is also on the list. He had a very specific mission. Want to know what his organization’s annual priorities were? Internal documents show “Kill Musk’s Twitter” at the top of the list. Not “reduce hate speech” or “improve online safety.” Kill Twitter. Destroy the platform entirely because Elon wouldn’t play ball with their censorship demands. These groups operated by labeling anything they disagreed with as “misinformation” or “hate speech,” then lobbying governments to force platforms to remove it. Clare Melford’s Global Disinformation Index used U.S. taxpayer money to create scoring systems that effectively blacklisted conservative American news outlets, steering advertisers away from them to financially strangle speech they opposed. Breton personally sent threatening letters to Elon warning of consequences under EU law right before his live interview with Trump during the campaign. Now the banned activists are claiming this is an “authoritarian attack on free speech” and calling it “immoral, unlawful, and un-American.” These are the same people who built entire careers pressuring tech platforms to silence voices they found problematic. Suddenly they care deeply about censorship when it affects them. Free speech isn’t negotiable. It’s not something governments should regulate away because certain viewpoints make them uncomfortable, whether in Europe or America. The U.S. just made clear that exporting censorship regimes to silence American speech won’t be tolerated  https://twitter.com/UnderSecPD/status/2003567940462084439?s=20 https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/2003635821719466479?s=20 regulate or silence our free speech is a gross violation of our sovereignty that must be answered with accountability. Thank you, @UnderSecPD . https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2003641415465566593?s=20 to end their relationship with Denmark. https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2003571566131704124?s=20 War/Peace https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/2003760225774444924?s=20  Russia has explicitly rejected the following point by insisting on stricter terms: Point 14 (Territorial issue): Russia rejects Ukraine’s proposal to “stay where we are” in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, demanding instead a full Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donetsk region.    No other specific rejections from Russia on the new 20-point plan have been confirmed yet, as Moscow is still formulating its official position.  The US has reached consensus with Ukraine on most points but has rejected or disagreed with Ukraine’s proposals on the following, offering alternatives instead: Point 12 (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant): The US rejects Ukraine’s option for joint US-Ukraine management on a parity basis, proposing trilateral management (involving the US, Ukraine, and likely Russia) with a key role for the American side.   Point 14 (Territorial issue): The US has not fully agreed to Ukraine’s “stay where we are” principle, proposing a compromise in the form of a free economic zone, potentially subject to a Ukrainian referendum if no other agreement is reached.  These disagreements were highlighted by Zelenskyy himself as areas where no consensus was reached with the US.  Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2003629130516955478?s=20  inside the department. She was promoted to lead the EMS in 2019 but by 2022 she was forced to retire. The FDNY is a complex organization of 17,000 employees who need a qualified leader, not a diversity hire. https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/2003615869008814124?s=20   realtor confirms Somalians have bought over 455 homes just in one neighborhood alone. The Somalians have nice cars like BMWs and Mercedes @Brookerteejones “Here in Minnesota, a local realtor reached out to me to tell me about another way that Somalians are scamming Minnesotans out of their taxpayer dollars. In her community alone, Somalians have bought up over 455 homes. They buy these homes claiming they’re turning these homes into home health care centers. She says the way we know Somalians have bought these homes is because all of a sudden extremely nice cars start showing up. Mercedes, BMWs, the nicest cars are parked in the driveway. She said, by law, the state will not come out and inspect these homes and make sure these homes even have clients living in these homes. — Somalians have bought that home and they’re using that as a home health care center. She said these homes can even take people in who’ve just been released from jail and the neighborhood does not need to know about this. But she says, many of these homes do not even have clients in them. But the state is writing them checks every month for the clients that the Somalians say are in these homes. These Somalians are making millions of dollars off of these homes every year.” “The Somalians have figured out exactly the perfect plan as to how to scam Minnesota taxpayers out of their money. They are banking on this making millions of dollars and the government here in Minnesota is too lazy to go and check it out and to see if there’s even clients living in these homes. The fraud in Minnesota is so deep” https://twitter.com/C_3C_3/status/2003104576766140813?s=20 Democrats from Minnesota, Ohio, Maine, and Boston Embrace Somalians Democrats across the country are praising and supporting Somali migrants, despite growing evidence of massive anti-social fraud by the foreign arrivals. As millions of dollars in more fraud and theft of state and federal welfare funding are uncovered in Ohio, Minnesota, and other places committed at the hands of Somali migrants, democrats are falling all over themselves to show their unmitigated support for the fraudsters. Source: thegatewaypundit.com President Trump's Plan  https://twitter.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/2003550668796350710?s=20 JUST IN: Biden Judge Blocks President Trump's Attempt to Strip Security Clearance From Deep State Lawyer Mark Zaid https://twitter.com/C_3C_3/status/2003674593995944077?s=20 US District Judge, Amir Ali, said Trump's attempt to strip the security clearance from Mark Zaid may violate the US Constitution. Recall that Mark Zaid represented Eric Ciaramella, the Trump-Ukraine impeachment ‘whistleblower.' Zaid also represents intelligence officials and other Deep State actors. Earlier this year, President Trump stripped the security clearances of at least eight corrupt ‘antagonists' who worked for Biden or targeted him for ruin over the last several years: Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken Former NatSec Advisor Jake Sullivan New York Attorney General Letitia James Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg Biden's Deputy AG Lisa Monaco Corrupt prosecutor Andrew Weissmann Deep State lawyer Mark Zaid Norm Eisen – the man behind all the lawfare against Trump Source: thegatewaypundit.com Jamie Raskin Reintroduces Radical “Ranked-Choice Voting” Scheme Ahead of Midterms in Latest Bid to Rig Future Elections Radical left-wing Jamie Raskin is once again pushing a sweeping overhaul of America's voting system, this time by reintroducing a federal mandate for so-called “ranked-choice voting” (RCV) just as the country barrels toward another high-stakes midterm election cycle. Raskin posted a video on X on Monday, pitching ranked-choice voting as a cure-all for American politics. The video was released after he reintroduced H.R. 6589, a bill that would mandate ranked-choice voting in elections for the U.S. House and Senate nationwide. Under the system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest vote-getter is eliminated and ballots are “redistributed” to remaining candidates until someone crosses the 50 percent threshold. Raskin even praised races where candidates who finished second in the first round ultimately “catapulted ahead” after vote redistribution. In Alaska, where RCV flipped a Republican seat to Democrat Mary Peltola despite 60% of voters backing GOP candidates, the system exhausted ballots and ignored second choices for top vote-getters. In New York, socialist Zohran Mamdani led on election night with 43.5% of first-choice votes, but after several rounds of eliminations and redistributions, he was declared the winner with 56%, while Andrew Cuomo finished with 44%. A study of Maine elections found that, of 98 recent ranked choice elections, 60 percent of the victors did not win by a majority of the total votes cast. RCV opens doors to fraud and manipulation. The multi-round tabulation delays create gaps ripe for accusations of tampering, while exhausted ballots mean winners often lack true majority support. Sites like RCVScam.com expose how it lets initial also-rans steal victories, undermining “one person, one vote.” In 2025 alone, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and South Carolina prohibited ranked-choice voting, joining 11 other states for a total of 17 bans. It is a scam, and Americans should push back hard. Source: thegatewaypundit.com  Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Deploy National Guard In Chicago The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Trump’s emergency request to allow National Guard troops to be deployed in Chicago, dealing a setback to the admin’s attempts to curtail high crime rates in major cities. The 6-3 decision left in force a judge's ruling that has blocked the deployment since Oct. 9. “At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the majority said. The government hadn't shown the president could legally “federalize the Guard in the exercise of inherent authority to protect federal personnel and property in Illinois.”   Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the high court's ruling Tuesday, saying he had “serious doubts” about the majority's reasoning. “The Court fails to explain why the President's inherent constitutional authority to protect federal officers and property is not sufficient to justify the use of National Guard members in the relevant area for precisely that purpose,” Alito wrote, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a separate dissent, contending that the challengers to the National Guard deployment – the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago – had forfeited the argument about the meaning of “regular forces” by failing to present that issue in the lower courts. Trump contends military force is needed to protect federal immigration agents from what he claims are violent protests.   Source: zerohedge.com https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2003592327244447867?s=20   cause the President to use the US military more than the National Guard”. The Supreme Court just admitted that Trump has the authority to invoke the Insurrection Act to bypass Posse Comitatus and send the troops to Chicago, and any other city he wants. Trump tried to exhaust every legal avenue possible before resulting to the Insurrection Act, but the Dems resisted and refused to cooperate. Sounds to me like Trump just got the green light. INVOKE THE INSURRECTION ACT! https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2003681206148251711?s=20  THAT'S the hard part. Especially when the MSM are compromised and telling the public that Trump is literally Hitler and is going to unleash a military dictatorship. This had to be done delicately, as not to cause panic. The public must be psychologically prepared. That's why Trump has been giving us soft disclosure about the Insurrection Act for a long time. They have been mentally preparing us for what they knew had to be done, by showing us why it needed to be done. Here he is back in September addressing all his Generals, and reminded them how Washington and Lincoln used the military to keep the peace. This was always the plan. https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2003586519374717151?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");

Edition for Dec. 24. This year has been a big one for deals, with some blockbuster mergers and big-name breakups. WSJ lead deals reporter Lauren Thomas discusses what drove all that activity in 2025, and what she'll be keeping her eye on in the year to come. Plus, the heirs to Texas billionaire Robert Brockman will pay $750 million in the biggest U.S. tax fraud case ever. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposes a demilitarized zone in the eastern region of Donetsk as part of a potential peace deal. Alex Ossola hosts. Programming note: What's News is publishing once a day through Jan. 2. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SOMALIA PUNTLAND 2022 Ambassador Hussein Haqqani and Bill Roggio discuss global terror outbreaks, including ISIS-linked attacks in Australia and Afghanistan. Haqqani argues the West prematurely declared victory, ignoring radical ideologies. He notes Pakistan's internal power struggles and failure to track jihadists, warning the region remains a launchpad for international terrorism. Bill Roggio analyzes the ISIS allegiance of Australian shooters, distinguishing ISIS's immediate caliphate goals from Al-Qaeda's patient state-building. He warns that while Al-Qaeda focuses on consolidating control in places like Somalia (Al-Shabaab), they remain a potent global threat capable of launching external attacks when strategically advantageous. John Hardie discusses US pressure on Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk and drop NATO bids for peace. He details Russian advances near Pokrovsk but doubts their ability to capture remaining fortress cities. Hardie notes Ukrainian resistance to territorial concessions despite Russian battlefield initiative and Western diplomatic maneuvering. David Daoud reports on Hezbollah's regeneration in Lebanon, aided by Iranian funding and weapons. He criticizes the Lebanese government's inaction and the international community's appeasement strategy. Daoudargues that failing to disarm Hezbollah to avoid civil war only guarantees Lebanon's slow deterioration into a failed state. Malcolm Hoenlein condemns the Bondi Beach terror attack as part of a global pattern of Islamist violence fueled by appeasement. He highlights the Australian government's failure to address warning signs, including anti-Semitic marches, and notes Iranian influence, warning that ignoring these threats invites further radicalization and violence. Malcolm Hoenlein expresses skepticism about Syria's leader, Al-Sharaa, calling him a "terrorist in a suit" despite Washington's support. He details Israel's concerns over weapons flowing into southern Syria and Hezbollah'srearmament, warning that Iran continues to build missile capabilities and destabilize the region despite economic ruin. Cleo Paskal critiques the UK's deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, endangering the strategic US base on Diego Garcia. She warns that China's influence in Mauritius could compromise the base. Paskal argues the deal ignores Chagossian rights and leaves the region vulnerable to Chinese expansionism. Akmed Sharawi reports on a "blue-on-green" attack in Syria where an infiltrated security officer killed Americans. He attributes this to the Syrian leadership's reckless integration of jihadist militias into security forces without vetting. Sharawi and Roggio argue this proves terrorists cannot be trusted to police other terrorists. Edmund Fitton-Brown warns that the West's premature "retirement" of counterterrorism efforts has allowed threats to incubate in conflict zones like Afghanistan. He argues that ignoring these regions inevitably leads to attacks in the West, as terrorists seek attention by striking "peaceful" environments, necessitating renewed forward engagement. Edmund Fitton-Brown argues the Muslim Brotherhood creates an environment for violent extremists like ISIS. He criticizes Western governments, specifically Australia, for appeasing Islamists and recognizing Palestine, which he claims fuels anti-Semitism and radicalization. He warns of "copycat" attacks spreading to the US and Europe due to this permissiveness. Alejandro Pena Esclusa and Ernesto Araujo celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize for Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado, viewing it as recognition of peaceful resistance against the Maduro regime. They discuss the regional struggle against a "project of power" linking Marxist socialism, drug trafficking, and authoritarian allies like Russiaand Iran. Ernesto Araujo and Alejandro Pena Esclusa analyze Latin America's rightward shift, citing Chile's rejection of a leftist constitution and election disputes in Honduras. They attribute leftist defeats to the failure of socialism and credit the "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine for encouraging democratic changes against regional narco-regimes. Professor Jonathan Healey details King Charles I's failed 1642 attempt to impeach and arrest five MPs, a move driven by Queen Henrietta Maria calling him a "poltroon." This "cinematic" blunder, betrayed by Lady Carlisle, unified Parliament against the King, marking a decisive step toward the English Civil War. Professor Jonathan Healey explains how the plague and volatile London crowds, including "Roundhead" apprentices, eroded King Charles I's authority in early 1642. The King's failed arrest attempt alienated moderates, shifting support to Parliamentarian John Pym, while the atmosphere of fear and disease accelerated the nation toward inevitable conflict. Professor Jonathan Healey describes the collapse of royal authority as King Charles I flees London after facing hostile crowds and biblical threats. While Queen Henrietta Maria seeks foreign aid, Charles establishes a court in York, accepting that armed conflict is necessary to subdue Parliament's radical legislative challenges. Professor Jonathan Healey recounts the humiliating refusal of Hull's governor to admit King Charles I, a key moment signaling open warfare. He discusses the irreconcilable ideological split over whether power derives from God or the people, illustrating the tragedy through figures like John Bankes who sought futile compromise.

John Hardie discusses US pressure on Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk and drop NATO bids for peace. He details Russian advances near Pokrovsk but doubts their ability to capture remaining fortress cities. Hardie notes Ukrainian resistance to territorial concessions despite Russian battlefield initiative and Western diplomatic maneuvering. 1859 Odessa

A day after US troops seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, Washington has imposed sanctions on six more ships said to be carrying Venezuelan oil. Also: President Zelensky focuses on the fate of Donetsk; NATO cautions against European complacency over Russia; Kohl eyeliner achieves the status of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage'; Open AI strikes deal with Disney; FIFA is urged to review World Cup ticket prices; Austria passes controversial law on head coverings; whales are filmed hunting with dolphins; and Snoop Dogg becomes an Olympic coach.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

After months of fighting, the Kremlin says Russian forces have seized the frontline city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. It links several other key cities in the Donetsk region. Last month, Ukraine sent reinforcements to try to fend off the Russian attack. Kyiv has not acknowledged the loss of the city. Also: the White House defends Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over US military action off the coast of Venezuela; the presidential election result in Honduras is too close to call; the World Health Organization calls for weight loss jabs to be more widely available; what Australian teenagers make of an up-coming social media ban; the eighty-five-kilometre long traffic jam in Siberia; and an interview with the Taiwanese director who shot a critically-acclaimed film on iPhones.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Ukraine Talks Lack Firm Position Amid Russian Maximalist Demands — John Batchelor, Bill Roggio, John Hardie — Batchelor reports that US Envoy Witkoff is proceeding to Moscow for negotiations, but the American and Ukrainian negotiating positions remain unsettled and insufficiently coordinated, particularly regarding territorial concessions and security guarantee structures. Hardie characterizes Russian demands as fundamentally maximalist, claiming territory including strategically defensible portions of Donetsk that Russian forces have not militarily conquered. Roggio documents that President Putin remains overconfident regarding the conflict trajectory, apparently believing that prolonging the war will ultimately yield more favorable settlement terms and territorial gains than immediate negotiation. 1921