Volodymyr Sheiko is the Director General of the Ukrainian Institute, Ukraine’s national cultural-diplomacy institution operating under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He became the Institute’s first Director General and was re-elected in 2021. Before leading the Institute, he worked for the British Council in Ukraine, where he was involved in arts management, cultural programming, communications, and international cultural cooperation.His work sits at the intersection of Ukrainian cultural diplomacy, literature, translation, decolonisation, memory politics, and resistance to Russian imperial narratives. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Sheiko has become one of the clearest voices arguing that culture is not peripheral to Ukraine’s survival. For him, literature, language, translation, archives, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions are part of the same struggle as the military front: the defence of Ukraine’s right to exist as a sovereign civilisation.----------The Ukrainian Institute has a mission to strengthen Ukraine internationally and domestically as a subject using the tools of cultural diplomacy. It promotes better knowledge and understanding of Ukraine internationally, and develops cultural relations between Ukraine and other countries. https://ui.org.ua/en/LINKS:https://pen.org.ua/en/members/volodymyr-sheikohttps://ui.org.ua/en/news-en/volodymyr-sheiko-was-re-elected-general-director-of-the-ukrainian-institute/https://www.britishcouncil.org.ua/en/lp-human-stories-en/volodymyr-sheiko-journeyhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/volodymyr-sheiko-38870a4/https://x.com/UA_Institute----------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 Ep352 | 2026-06-16 | Fifteen kilometres from the Kremlin: thirty-six hours after the Pechersk Lavra burned, Ukraine hits the heart of Moscow’s fuel economy, striking a vast oil refinery that services the imperial capital. Breaking: 16 June 2026 — coordinated Ukrainian strike on Moscow oil refinery in the Kapotnya district damages the ELOU avt-6 primary distillation unit; 500-kilometre range; all four major Moscow airports forced to suspend operations; about 60 drones intercepted in what TASS calls one of the largest barrages on the capital all year; Zelensky confirms the strike on his way to the G7; the response to the Lavra strike was always going to come — and the timing is perfect. Ukraine comes to the international summit with a full deck of cards. ----------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.----------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:RBC-Ukraine — "Drones strike Moscow's largest oil refinery" (16 June 2026) UNITED24 Media — "Ukrainian Drones Hit Moscow Oil Refinery Supplying 40% of Capital Region's Fuel" (16 June 2026) Bloomberg — "Ukraine Strikes Moscow Oil Refinery in Latest Drone Attack on Russia" (16 June 2026) Kyiv Post — "Moscow Refinery, Krasnodar Oil Depot Burning in Massive Ukrainian Drone Raid" (16 June 2026) ABC News — "Moscow mayor says dozens of Ukrainian drones downed in attack on Russian capital" (16 June 2026) Euronews — "Moscow oil refinery ablaze after retaliatory Ukrainian drone strike" (16 June 2026)Interfax Ukraine — "Defense forces strike Moscow oil refinery and design bureau in Tula" (16 June 2026) UNN (Ukrainian News Network) — "General Staff confirmed the strike on the Moscow Oil Refinery and more" (16 June 2026) Mezha (Bukvy) — "Ukrainian special forces struck Moscow refinery, causing major fire" (16 June 2026) MSN / Daily Mail wire — "Ukrainian drone attacks spark fires at Moscow refinery and Krasnodar region fuel depot" (16 June 2026) RBC-Ukraine — "Moscow oil refinery burns after Ukrainian drone strike - Details emerge" (16 June 2026)----------

Today I’m speaking with Operator Starsky, a former Ukrainian National Guardian, blogger, and inspiration for everyone who is following the war, and supporting a Ukrainian victory. He has created one of the most popular and original YouTube channels dedicated to the international community. I’m not sure you need an introduction – I’m sure most people watching this channel will have seen your videos! ----------LINKS:https://www.youtube.com/@PropagandaStudyInstitutehttp://psi-eu.org/https://www.youtube.com/@StarskyUA----------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.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------CHAPTERS: ----------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----------