Destroying ukraine now that zalinski has proposed a face to face meeting with sinski. Do you still want them to go first before the us gets involved in talking? ; well, i don’t mind. I mean, it’s let them deal. I’m the one that got him to this position and i think that’s going to get worked out.
i think we’re getting close to where russia ukraine should have. It’s a war that should have never happened. Would have never happened if i was president. But i think i think that’s going to get worked out. Yeah. ; it’s ken harbaugh with the midas touch network. That was yet another example of the united states as a superpower in decline with a president who instead of exercising leadership on the most important geopolitical issue of the day throws up his hands, says not my problem, and adds falsely that we never would have been in this situation if
He’d been in charge. But reality is catching up to donald trump. He can lie all he wants about ending eight wars. The iranians don’t care about this rhetoric. The ukrainians and russians don’t either. The language of power still matters in international affairs and the united states under trump’s leadership is impotent.
on monday, i aired part one of my conversation with kalin robertson, an irish journalist who has covered extensively the war in ukraine with some of the bravest reporting i have ever seen. The day before our interview, he was awarded the order of merit by president zilinski for his reporting. His latest story covers the complicity of his government in ireland in helping fund the russian war machine.
in some ways, that reporting is every bit as brave as his work on the front lines. He has received death threats for exposing how a russian company now controls the export of the lion share of a critical wartime resource from ireland. Kalin has set out to prove that this raw material is winding up in russian weapons that kill innocent ukrainians.
it’s an incredible story fit for hollywood and it’s happening right now. Here’s part two of my conversation with kalin robertson. How do you think about the threats you’re receiving for this kind of reporting versus the threat you experience under the the skies of kerone or out east? It’s a very different kind of fear you have to live with doing this kind of reporting.
; it’s a very weird and surreal situation. I am desperate to get back to ukraine because that’s where i feel much safer. No, and i’m not joking. You know, when i’m sure you felt the first time we went to ukraine when there’s a war going on, it was terrifying crossing that border watching it on google maps at little blue dot and it’s like, right, we’re here.
this is, you know, heart rates through the roof. My heart rate is now through the roof until i can get back to ukraine because at least in ukraine, you know, most of the russians and the saboturs, you know, where they are. They’re the other side of the front line. In ireland, they’re everywhere. They’re owning the russian refineries. They’re in the bars and restaurants.
They’re in politics and media. And they’re infiltrating the whole thing. There’s been reports as well that shows that ireland is now a backdoor to russian sabers and russian spies. 14,000 visas have been issued to these people. Incredibly dangerous. Much safer in ukraine, which is crazy to think about it.
people like, “oh, i bet you can’t wait to take a b break from ukraine and go home to peaceful ireland.” it’s like, no, i can’t wait to take a break from ireland and go to ukraine where i can feel safe. But that’s a damning indictment of how bad things have gotten and how normalized europe has gotten. I didn’t just go to ireland as well. I went from nicipul.
i went through venice to cover the venice bianale where i confronted the russian ambassador. Don’t know if you saw this two weeks ago. And the fact that the russians were back with a pavilion there. And it’s how the whole of europe are now again inviting the russians back again just like they did after they stole crimea in 2014.
and this is going to continue again, again, and again, and again, endlessly until it stopped. But again, we allow russia to steal places, invade countries, and then apologize for them, invite them back to all of our lovely, beautiful, polite events, and then act shocked when it happens again and again.
and that’s because uh you know, it’s the definition of of madness is to repeat the same mistakes. And that’s what we’re doing. ; that accommodation is not reflective at all of the reality of the battlefield right now. It’s almost as if european and american politics lags by by a year. What is actually happening in ukraine.
And it’s too soon to say ukraine is winning. I actually i i’ll say it because i’m i’m an optimist eternally when it comes to ukraine’s fight. But they are able to launch strikes deep into russia, their long range sanctions program is having that silinski’s term is having a devastating effect and you see it not just in the numbers but in the outlook of putin and the people around him.
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they are displaying a kind of paranoia we haven’t seen since the the very early days of the war. What is your assessment of the tactical and strategic reality in ukraine when it comes to the war itself? ; well, it’s cool that you said that. Most journalists like to pride themselves on being pessimists all the time, but actually it’s it’s good to be optimistic because that’s realistic in this situation.
after years in ukraine, this feels like the first turning point where it really feels like something could happen. A second war has been launched. You know this which is when ukraine started building and firing their own long-range missiles and that’s a war on russia’s industrial complex and their economy and now there’s there’s just a time that’s left right ukraine doesn’t have the same manpower of russia uh but russia cannot sustain these long-range attacks in the long term and that means that you know there will be a point if these refineries keep burning that maybe
If they go bankrupt they can’t pay soldiers to come to ukraine to murder people every single day maybe it’s 6 months maybe it’s a few who knows? So, it’s a bit it’s difficult as well, right? And and that is up against um the reality that ukraine cannot continue on the front lines losing people every single day endlessly, right? Russia can russia doesn’t care about human lives.
They’ll just throw people into the into the meat grinder. But ukraine do and ukraine uh you know doesn’t have the same number of people as russia. And i think they realize that and they’re very very realistic about it. And that’s why that’s why they’re hitting russia in the way that they are.
but honestly, i just have a feeling that it’s gonna work. And i wouldn’t say that if i didn’t think it was true. I wouldn’t i wouldn’t say those words. But there feels like something’s different in the air. I don’t know if you felt this as well when you were in ukraine recently, but there’s an electricity in the air. There’s a hope.
you can see it in people’s faces all across the country. And you can see it in the videos that russians are posting, you know, with smoke rising in their in their back gardens every day. So, you know, this is like unprecedented and the humiliation, you know, russia’s all russia really has as well is their like image on the world stage of being a big russian bear that you should never poke.
and they get candace owens and andrew tate and all the worst people on earth to go and promote that image. And now ukraine humiliated them at the st. Petersburg conference, right, their their version of davos and then wrote an open letter and said, “all right, is it time to give up now?” i mean, this is like a great strategy.
um, and i could see it working in some ways because even the pro-russians around the world are looking at that and going, “that doesn’t look too good. That doesn’t look too strong.” and then russia starts to have those cracks of its image. So really, it’s like an incredibly great strategy. Also, you know, russia asked ukraine for permission to hold victory day parade and they broke their ceasefire.
they promised they aren’t going to hold any more parade ever again. Um, you know, that’s that’s the end of that. And that was shown in their uh parade at st. Petersburg going up in flames. So, it’s uh it’s interesting. ; well, that gets to the reality of this becoming a a high-tech war. I mean, it was always heading in that direction.
i think you uh made the comparison to mad max and i can’t remember your bladeunner. I don’t know what your high-tech version of, but i you know, i call it terminator in world war i. It’s it’s this weird melding of of two different kinds of warfare. But in the high-tech domain, ukraine now has the edge. They are advising nato.
they are advising the gulf states. This is more my beat than yours, but do you ever talk to people in the ukrainian military about their emergence as a military superpower? ; oh, yeah. I mean, i asked silinsky about this just a week after he sent people to the gulf to rescue them and to rescue us air bases.
um, and he was i said, you know, have the do you have the cards now? And he said, yeah. And he represents you a lot of the militaries. And he said, you know, we’re sitting here a year after you were bered at the white house for having nothing. And now, you know, the us are asking for your help to to to defend their their ships in the in the in the straits.
so there there is definitely an acknowledgement and i know people all across the board in ukrainian military from the front lines defenders all the way up to uh the people, you know, the the top of the government. Uh, and there has been a massive kind of change in in attitude and it’s kind of it’s it’s seen through a smirk and sort of a smile in almost every conversation through having an edge.
and that is like indisputable just fact, right? You can see that everywhere. Hey everyone, quick break to say thank you. My last trip to ukraine was made possible by those of you who signed up for my substack page. There’s a free option, too, but the paid subs, which help cover my trips, start at just eight bucks a month, which actually goes a lot farther than you might think, given how cheap it is to sleep in a trench.
i’ll be going back, and i’ll also be posting frequent updates from the front until then. And we’ve got the midas defense weekly substack live on wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. Check that out. And if you haven’t yet, please subscribe to the ken harbaugh show substack channel. Your support is what makes all this possible. Back to the show.
but ukraine has has had to do this because they realized at a certain point when trump came in that they were on their own in a lot of ways. Yes, they’re still getting support through journalists like you and american citizens watching this, still caring about ukraine and donating and fighting and volunteering, but direct support from the us government directly from the trump administration.
They knew that that was going to that was going to stop. So they said, “right, let’s do and make with what we have and we’ll make it everything here. We’ll we’ll we’ll innovate through the roof.” and it’s been insanely amazing. And i know what the reason i want to buy a house in ukraine one day and live in odessa in odessa uh is because i can see it and believe it that when the war is over, it’s going to be one of the most important places on the planet for defense, for industry, for investment, for everything. It’s going to thrive. I
Know that for a fact. So, uh it’s going to be incredible. ; i agree. And it’s not just about the economics. It’s about a population that has a national mission. And so many countries in the bleaguered west in the us have lost that sense of national purpose. That’s the most powerful thing i perceive when i go.
of course, they have this amazing tech industry, an innovative spirit that is leapfrogging europe. But it’s really that sense of national purpose that i think is is going to propel them. ; oh yeah. Yeah. It’s it’s it’s amazing to see it. And again, i’m you i’m sure you’re well aware of just what that feels like as soon as you cross the border now. But the future is bright.
i think it’s good. And again, you know, people would say i’m like being a ukrainian shill for saying this or a cope or whatever. I never used to really say this, not until the last 6 months that this really feels like a turning point. It feels bright. This is the best summer i’ve seen. Um it’s amazing, ; especially after the winter that ukraine just endured.
it’s almost poetic in a way. The the turning point for me uh and it happened very recently was talking to ukrainians at the same time that our secretary of state was on the phone with sergey lavrov being told to evacuate all americans from keev. What ukrainians were saying to me and i felt terrible saying this out loud until more than one of them gave me permission.
their response has been astonishingly bring it on. You want to launch the biggest raid on kev that we’ve ever seen? Bring it on. The idea that this is going to cow them or break their spirit when it is having absolutely the opposite effect is just another indication of the bubble that putin is living in.
he has no idea what the the resolve of the ukrainian people will lead to, which will be the dissolution of russia, i believe. Do you do you have thoughts on that? Where what does russia look like in 30 years? Oh yeah, completely. I mean, putin still thinks in a lot of ways that um the more you bomb a population, the more likely it is that they’ll be, you know, pushed into submission um because he thinks that that’s what generates respect through fear.
but when you bomb a thriving democracy, people that love freedom, it makes them more determined every single time an explosion happens. And that’s why it’s backfiring so much. And that’s why people in hersan are so resilient as well. It has the complete opposite effect. And i imagine that russia, because people say all the time, “oh, you’re just a wararmonger.
you want russia annihilated and destroyed.” i think that russia is going to be economically destroyed and broken up as a state, dysfunctional. Um, and unless it’s saved by donald trump at the last second, which, you know, it seems like he wants to do or someone swoops in to try and save the day. And unless it’s invited back into the civilized world again, like what happened after the soviet union fell, it will happen again.
Again, russia is a relatively new country. People call ukraine new and they say, “oh, ukraine’s only 30 years old. You know, it’s not a real place.” russia’s actually about 30 years old. Uh because that’s when the soviet union collapsed and it’s pretty recent that it’s already shown that it’s not sustainable and it can collapse under the same type of system of corruption that it was leading under.
and it will collapse again. Um history shows that it’s a very dysfunctional country and a dysfunctional state. And again, a lot of people think that this just stops at putin as well. Unfortunately, most of russian society are pretty indifferent to the war, pretty indifferent to ukrainians. I don’t really have a lot of hope that someone else is going to come in as an opposition leader.
so, the best outcome is that it is just as a country not economically able to wage warfare on anyone else and it can just be bulcanized and left to themselves. They can do farming, they can do whatever they want, but they’re not going to come to there’ll be no embassies and there’ll be no invites into the civilized world for a while at least.
i mean, this is this is the only way to deal with a country that cannot stop invading and genociding everyone around it. It’s been doing this for centuries. So, you know, that’s what i think that’s what’s going to happen. I can pretty much visualize it. I’ve only been to russia once. That was to kersk with the ukrainians.
and um people think that was the last time they put me on interpol for that, but i think i’ll visit again one day once it’s broken up and uh you know, we can both just go in and have a look at how things were when it’s no longer a state. ; please contextualize that for the uninitiated. Uh how how did you visit russia again? What were the circumstances of that tourist visit? ; i guess it’s my first holiday without a passport.
i was sitting in sunumi uh about a year and a half ago. The north koreans had just arrived and the journalists had been banned at this point and uh one of the soldiers said, “oh, you want to go to you want to go to russia?” and i laughed and he said, “no, no, no. Do you tomorrow morning there’s a van. We can throw you in the back if you want to go. Just don’t tell anyone.
” i was like, “okay.” he said, “just leave your passport in the hotel.” so, but i wanted to go and film. Uh because i knew that russians would put out propaganda and lies once it had been taken back, right? And they would say that all this terrible stuff happened and i wanted to show the truth.
the new york times did a puff piece on it. But i also wanted to see what it looked like and it was fascinating. I got to see russians in their natural inhabitat. You know, they were in their natural environment. You know, they were looting and they were stealing and they were, you know, robbing their own supermarket. So that was kind of fascinating like almost like a nature documentary.
um but uh i also did a did a did a report once i had left and said, “look, there are children cycling through the streets. There are um houses that are all intact and people being looked after. The russians are going to deny ; by the ukrainian by the ukrainian ; by the ukrainians.” yeah. So that was really important to show.
but i also said, you know, the only difference is really now that it’s under new um new rules is uh that they have flushing toilets now because the ukrainians are here, thank god. So they’re they’re a little bit happier, you know, the russians. And uh they were so angry about that they put me on like interpol, international wanted list, put me on russia today, you know, constantly said i was a terrorist, all this stuff.
but you know, russians don’t like to be humiliated. They don’t like to be laughed at. What the one of the most viral tweets was one of the russians said, “how dare you come to our country? How did you get in? Who let you in?” and i posted a photo of the bombed checkpoint and said, “i don’t know. The checkpoint was out of service.
” and they just lost it because russians cannot stand to be humiliated because again it’s the big bear. So that was pretty pretty funny actually. Um ; reporting, ; right? Well, keep it up. We’ll keep following of course and let’s figure out a way to do you know something jointly with midas touch.
i think that would be a lot of fun. ; i would love that. Yeah, that sounds amazing. ; great. Thanks kaylin. Great having you. ; thanks for having me. ; want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack at midasplus.com. You’ll get daily recaps from ron philowski, ad free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at midasplus.com.
The Missing Piece of the Ukraine War: How a Banned Journalist Infiltrated Russia to Expose Everything
Article:
The Cost of Courage: Why Telling the Truth in Wartime is Becoming a Death Sentence
In the shadows of modern geopolitical conflicts, there exists a silent war. It is not fought with artillery, drones, or long-range missiles, but with information, silence, and the deliberate manufacturing of reality. For journalists on the ground, the choice is stark: report the sanitized version accepted by international summits, or dig into the blood-stained truth—and risk everything.
Kailin Robertson, an Irish journalist, has chosen the latter. His reporting from the front lines of Ukraine has not only earned him the Order of Merit from President Zelensky but has also made him a target for those who prefer the truth to remain buried. Recently, Robertson has turned his investigative lens toward his home country of Ireland, exposing a complex web of complicity where critical wartime resources are funneled into the Russian military machine.
This is not a story about distant battles. It is a story about the fragility of democracy, the infiltration of national security, and the terrifying realization that for some, safety is a relative term that shifts depending on which side of a border you are standing. As we peel back the layers of this narrative, we find ourselves confronting a reality that many in the West are desperate to ignore.
The Surreal Safety of the Frontline
For those who have never stepped into a war zone, the idea of “safety” is usually synonymous with home. We imagine the sanctuary of our living rooms, the predictability of our streets, and the comfort of our established institutions. But for Robertson, the perspective is inverted. After spending extensive time on the front lines in Ukraine, he describes a haunting realization: he feels safer in a war zone than he does at home in Ireland.
This is not a result of combat-induced paranoia. It is a strategic assessment. In Ukraine, the adversary is visible. The front line is clearly defined. The saboteurs and the soldiers who wish you harm are across the field. In contrast, the environment he describes in Europe is one of infiltration—where interests aligned with the aggressor are woven into the fabric of daily life, from business boardrooms to political circles.
The chilling reality is that while the world discusses geopolitical policy in safe, climate-controlled rooms, those policies are often failing to account for the reality on the ground. When we allow Russian entities to continue operating under the guise of normalcy—attending cultural events, holding pavilion spaces, and maintaining diplomatic facades—we are not practicing diplomacy; we are practicing madness.
The Turning Point: A High-Tech War of Attrition
The strategic reality of the conflict in Ukraine has shifted significantly. We have moved beyond the traditional imagery of infantry trenches into a new, high-tech domain. It is a strange synthesis of historical warfare and futuristic technological innovation—a “Terminator” version of World War I.
Ukraine’s emergence as a military superpower has been nothing short of remarkable. Having been told by many global powers that they stood little chance against their neighbor, the Ukrainian military has instead pivoted toward technological self-reliance. They have become innovators, building their own long-range capabilities and establishing an asymmetric advantage that has begun to rattle the halls of power in Moscow.
What does it feel like when the tide of a war begins to turn? It is an electricity in the air. It is a sense of national mission that has been lost in many Western nations. For those on the ground, this is not just a battle for territory; it is a battle for the preservation of an idea—a thriving, innovative democracy that refuses to be cowed by fear.
What would you have done in this situation? Faced with the choice between staying in the comfort of a “peaceful” nation that you know is deeply compromised, or returning to a war zone where you know the risks but understand the enemy, which path would you take?
The Deconstruction of the “Big Bear” Myth
One of the most profound psychological battles in this war is the dismantling of the “Big Russian Bear” image. For decades, the global order operated on the assumption that Russia was an unstoppable force that should never be “poked.” This fear was carefully curated, promoted by a global network of influencers and political pundits who sought to project an image of invincibility.
Ukraine, however, has effectively humiliated that image. By striking back, by forcing the closure of symbolic events, and by daring to expose the fragility of the Russian economy and military complex, they have shattered the facade.
This brings us to the question of what happens next. History shows that when states are built on a foundation of systemic corruption, they are inherently unstable. The collapse of the Soviet Union was just the beginning of a cycle that we may be seeing repeat itself. The best-case scenario, many argue, is not the total annihilation of a people, but the economic and structural breakdown of an aggressive state that can no longer afford to wage war on its neighbors.
A Glimpse Behind the Lines
Robertson’s most daring move, however, was his journey into Russian-occupied territory—specifically, his trip to Kursk. Without a passport, entering by the back of a van, he sought to verify the truth of what was happening under occupation.
What he found was a nature documentary of human behavior under duress. He didn’t see the heroic military myths presented by state propaganda; he saw looting, the robbing of supermarkets, and a stark contrast in living conditions. When he pointed out the irony of the situation—that the locals were perhaps more comfortable under new rules because of restored infrastructure like running water—the resulting outrage from the Russian state was a perfect indicator of the sensitivity they have toward being laughed at. They cannot stand the humiliation. They cannot stand the truth.
The Final Reckoning
As we look toward the future, the questions become more urgent. We are witnessing a realignment of global power, and the roles of nations like the United States and Ireland are under the microscope. Are we committed to the preservation of democracy, or are we merely managing our own decline?
The narrative of this war is far from over. It is being written by those who dare to cross borders, by those who refuse to take “no” for an answer, and by the resilience of a population that has decided it will not be erased. The outcome will depend not just on missiles and industrial capacity, but on the resolve of global citizens to keep their eyes on the reality, even when it is uncomfortable.
The stakes could not be higher. If the international community continues to ignore the complicity within its own borders, it will only serve to fuel the fire that is already consuming the heart of Europe. We are reaching a point where passive observation is no longer an option.
As you reflect on the complexities of this conflict and the bravery of those documenting it, consider the role you play in the information ecosystem. Are you engaging with the truth, or are you waiting for the story to be told to you?
The final question remains: If the world continues to look away, what will be left of the institutions we once believed were untouchable? The answer to that will be written in the coming months, in the silence of the trenches, and in the noise of a global public that finally refuses to be silent.
Share your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to pass this on—the world needs to see the reality behind the headlines.
