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Why is Zelensky firing top leaders as Ukraine’s outlook improves?

Amid battlefield gains, President Volodymyr Zelensky removed popular officials in a major shake-up./ July 22, 2026 at 3:11 p.m. EDTYesterday at 3:11 p.m. EDT/ By David L. Stern, Steve Hendrix and Serhii Korolchuk/ IMAGE People in Kyiv protest on Monday the ousting of a popular defense minister and demand the resignation of Ukraine's commander in chief. (Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images)/ KYIV — From the outside, this was shaping up as a strong year for wartime Ukraine./ Ukrainian drones are burning Russia’s refineries and starving occupied Crimea of fuel. Moscow’s summer offensive has stalled on most parts of the front, and Ukraine is taking back territory. In Washington, a president who spent last year berating Kyiv has warmed to it again./ But suddenly last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismantled what looked like a winning team — removing his popular defense minister, his prime minister and, late Tuesday, the acclaimed commander in chief of his armed forces./ Zelensky...
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‼️Zelenskyy removes Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief, appoints Mykhailo Drapatyi, after a week of protests

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World of Gold ·  Follow Posted by  Elena Gold ;   see  also    After a weeks of public protests demanding reinstatement of the dismissed defense minister Fedorov and removal of the chief commander General Syrskyi—and several days of consultations with top generals of Ukraine’s defense forces, Zelenskyy made the decision to replace commander Syrskyi with General Mykhailo Drapatyi [see Wikipedia ]. Drapatyi’s appointnent as the Commander-in-Chief was another request often voiced by the protestors. 43-year-old General Drapatyi was previously the Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (since 3 June 2025). Before that position, he was the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces (2024—2025). Drapaty was the hero of fighting for Mariupol back in 2014—when the Russians initially invaded the city, but had been pushed out by the Ukrainian forces. It was under his command a battalion of the 72nd Brigade rammed through barricades in Mariupol on...
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Ukraine’s Battle-Tested Drone Boats to Be Made in U.S. for the First Time

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Manufacturing deal could be start of a bigger move to share weaponry Ukraine has honed during its war with Russia By Shelby Holliday and Alistair Macdonald   The Wall Street Journal Updated July 21, 2026 3:48 pm ET A Magura sea drone, a kamikaze-type drone that Ukraine has used to hit warships and infrastructure. Efrem Lukatsky/ AP   Quick Summary -- Portland-based ReconCraft and Ukrainian company Uforce signed a deal to manufacture Ukrainian-designed Magura drone boats in the U.S. View more   -- The teaming agreement aims to produce hundreds or even thousands of the 25-foot-long unmanned speedboats annually in Oregon and South Carolina. -- The deal comes as the Pentagon seeks to expand its arsenal of lower-cost autonomous weapons that have been battle-tested in Ukraine. JB: This summary was generated with AI and reviewed by an editor.  Suggestion: Read more (JB - myself included) about how we use (should use) "artificial"  intelligence in our journalism &...
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Zelensky Removes Ukraine’s Armed-Forces Chief After Days of Street Protests

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Decision follows discussions with military commanders over war’s direction By Anastasiia Malenko  The Wall Street Journal  July 21, 2026 4:18 pm ET Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy valentyn ogirenko/ Reuters Quick Summary - - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the country’s armed-forces chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy. -- Zelensky appointed Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatiy to replace Syrskiy as the head of Ukraine’s armed forces. -- Syrskiy’s ouster follows protests over his handling of the conflict and anger over the dismissal of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. *** -- JB :   See also:  Against Zelensky, ( The Wall Street Journal , July 20) *** Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the country’s armed-forces chief following protests over both Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy’s handling of the conflict with Russia and Zelensky’s earlier ouster of a defense minister associated with the country’s growing prowess in drone warfare. Zelensky announced the decision in a t...
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Ukraine is teaching Russia a lesson. The U.S. should take notes. [pls read below observations]

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Ukrainian drones and rockets have punished underprotected Russian assets on Crimea. July 20, 2026 A satellite image of the Crimea Bridge, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Crimea, on June 22. (Vantor/Reuters) By Brady Africk  The Washington Post The original article containes links and additional illustrations which (for some reason[s]) could not be reproduced below I of course plead guilty for this bardak, but it was not intentional,  as far as I could tell,  on my part. Opinion/criticisms welcome. Brady Africk is a research analyst specializing in open-source intelligence at the American  Enterprise Institute .   Ukraine is ratcheting up the tempo of drone strikes pummeling Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russian  President Vladimir Putin in 2014. Russia has tried to shield its most valuable military assets by hardening aircraft shelters and beefing up air-defense systems, but it has already paid a steep price. Kyiv’s drones continue to punish critical...
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