Moscow's strategic objective has long been to neutralise the United States as an obstacle to Russian power by attacking the cohesion, confidence, institutions and decision-making capacity of American society itself. This is the argument behind Keir Giles’ latest book, American Overthrow (2026).----------Keir Giles has spent his career watching, studying, and explaining Russia, which is fortuitous, as Russia has reemerged as an aggressive and malign peer adversary in the 21st century. Keir is a British specialist on Russian strategy, information warfare, cyber conflict and non-military power projection. He is currently an Associate Fellow in Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia Programme and has supported its Russia research since 2013. He also leads the independent Conflict Studies Research Centre (CSRC), which he has directed since 2010. Earlier in his career he worked for the BBC Monitoring Service and with the UK Defence Academy, researching Russian military doctrine, security policy, cyber and information warfare and Russia's relations with neighbouring states.----------BOOKS:American Overthrow: Moscow’s Endgame in Its Long War with Washington (2026) Who Will Defend Europe? An Awakened Russia and a Sleeping Continent (2024)Russia's War on Everybody: And What it Means for You (2022)Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West (2019)The Turning Point for Russian Foreign Policy (2017)The State of the NATO-Russia Reset (2011)Potential Challenges to Public Order and Social Stability in the Russian Federation (2011)----------LINKS: https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/keir-gileshttps://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=7Bs89WMAAAAJhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keir_Gileshttps://icds.ee/en/author/keir-giles-3/https://www.linkedin.com/in/keir-giles-499a489/ https://www.coleurope.eu/keir-giles ----------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----------

Silicon Bites Ep396 | 2026-09-07 | Kyiv's spy agencies opened fire on each other. Forty-eight hours later a Russian drone flew into the office of the SBU chief. These are unprecedented events. Moscow thinks it is watching a state come apart. And Moscow trolls and Kremlin aligned analysts, agents and useful idiots are having a field day. But Ukraine stands and is not collapsing from within – it’s just having a bad, a very bad, day. But better days will come, as Moscow reaps the consequences of its relentless aggression. ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:Kyiv Independent — Zelensky dismisses high-ranking SBU official, demands investigation after shootout between Ukraine's security services in Kyiv — https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-prevents-fsb-plot-against-russian-opposition-figure/Kyiv Independent — Fallout from 'disgraceful' HUR, SBU shootout deepens with more FSB accusations, denials — https://kyivindependent.com/sbu-accuses-russian-volunteer-corps-deputy-commander-of-fsb-ties-as-he-alleges-threats-in-secret-detention/RFE/RL — Alleged Confession Video Raises More Questions About Ukrainian Security Agencies' Shoot-Out — https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-gunfire-security-agencies-russia-war/33846889.htmlAl Jazeera — Ukrainian intel agencies in Kyiv firefight: What happened and why? — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/3/ukrainian-intel-agencies-in-kyiv-firefight-what-happened-and-whyUkrainska Pravda (English) — Deputy commander of Russian Volunteer Corps claims Ukraine's Security Service tried to use his testimony to discredit head of President's Office — https://pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/09/03/8051736Kyiv Post — Kyiv Shootout Between SBU and HUR – What We Know — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83582Kyiv Post — SBU, HUR Offer Conflicting Accounts Over Kyiv Shootout — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83687Kyiv Post — Zelensky Orders Dismissal of SBU, HUR Deputy Chiefs Over Shootout in Kyiv — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83702The Moscow Times — Ukraine's SBU Accuses Russian Volunteer Corps Commander of Plotting to Kill Opposition Figure — https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/09/03/ukraines-sbu-accuses-russian-volunteer-corps-commander-of-plotting-to-kill-opposition-figure-a93634NV (New Voice of Ukraine) — SBU alleges Kaplunov planned FSB-ordered killing of Russian opposition figure — https://english.nv.ua/nation/sbu-accuses-kaplunov-of-plotting-fsb-assassination-of-russian-opposition-figure-50638130.htmlUNN — Deputy heads of the SBU and the HUR will be dismissed — Zelenskyy on the shootout in Kyiv — https://unn.ua/en/news/deputy-heads-of-the-sbu-and-the-hur-will-be-dismissed-zelenskyy-on-the-shootout-in-kyiv----------

Oleksandra Chorna is a Blogger and Therapist based in New York. She runs platforms including on YouTube focusing on democratic politics, authoritarian slide, and Ukraine's struggle to remain independent in the face of Russian aggression. ----------LINKS:https://www.youtube.com/@UC9WVWN8qNEiy2CofIUW9Zpw https://www.instagram.com/mom_ocracy/https://www.linkedin.com/in/oleksandra-chorna-30b9088/----------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----------