On July 15, 2026, President Zelensky dismissed his entire cabinet — and with it, defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, six months into the job and, to many soldiers and civilians, the most effective minister Ukraine's military had ever had. Within a day there were protests in Kyiv. Two days later, we turned on the cameras. In this emergency panel — filmed in Kyiv on July 17 — Rob Lee sits down with two men who serve: Dima Putiata, veteran sergeant of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces, and Ryan O'Leary, an American who has fought for Ukraine since 2022 and joins the podcast for the first time — and does not hold back. In Part 1, they unpack the political thinking behind the dismissal: what Fedorov actually changed in six months, why the streets reacted, who the replacement is, and the deeper clash over how this war should be fought — Fedorov's strategy of making the war unsustainable for Russia versus Syrskyi's push to attack while the window is open. Part 2 goes deeper: Fedorov's farewell list of the army's systemic problems — E-points, the half-built corps reform, busification, and the foreigners' revolving door — debated point by point. Subscribe so you don't miss it. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction (Sam Cook): The Week That Shook Kyiv 2:11 - The Panel Convene 3:30 - Dima: Why People Defend Fedorov — and Why Wartime Reform Is Brutal 7:29 - How the Replacement Unfolded: Klymenko First, Then the SBU Man 8:22 - Ryan: "Ukraine Shoots Itself in the Foot" 11:58 - Year Four, and Foreigners Still Can't Transfer 12:43 - Why Six-Month Ministers Can't Work — and Why Fedorov Was Different 15:32 - Replacing People Without Giving Them a Chance 18:10 - Where the Frontline Gains Actually Came From 19:38 - What Fedorov Really Changed: He Opened the MOD to the Public 21:47 - Trust in Institutions — "We're Below Zero Now" 23:38 - The Strategy Vacuum Since 2023 25:01 - "I Asked How We Win — and Got Silence" 27:37 - Kursk: A Brilliant Operation in Search of a Strategy 28:52 - Fedorov's Theory of Victory: Make the War Unsustainable for Russia 31:31 - The New Minister: Brilliant Operator, Zero Public Affairs 33:10 - What Background Does a Defense Minister Actually Need? 35:26 - Dima vs the 50,000-a-Month Metric: Kill More, or Lose Fewer? 38:24 - Strike at 100 Kilometers, Not at the Zero Line 40:12 - Attrition or Maneuver: Where Is Russia's Breaking Point? 41:17 - Crimea Isolated: No Fuel, No Power, No Fleet — but Does It End the War? 44:41 - Making Occupation Unlivable: The Governance-Collapse Theory 48:59 - After the Strikes, What? Fedorov vs Syrskyi on Going on the Attack 49:49 - The Kursk Bill: A Thousand Vehicles and Hollowed-Out Brigades 51:21 - Two Theories of Victory: Raise the Costs, or Break the Line 52:12 - The Counterattack Reflex — and the Lying It Created 53:20 - The Assault Regiments: The Skala Controversy 55:38 - Code 9.2 and the Kupiansk Model: 100 Infantry, Local Drone Superiority 56:36 - Ryan Sides With Syrskyi: The Window for Maneuver Is Open 58:56 - Behind the Drone Line, You Can Do Whatever You Want 59:09 - Area Denial: "Mine Every Tree Line, 15 to 20 Kilometers Deep" 1:00:56 - Bakhmut, Lost Villages, and the Politics of Holding Ground 1:03:23 - Drone Assaults: What Chosen Company Proved in 2023 1:05:46 - The Missed Breach at Huliaipole 1:11:11 - Skala's Problem: Public Affairs 1:15:12 - Ten-Thousand-Man Regiments: Who's Actually In Them? 1:18:01 - Mobilization, Prisoners, and Who Ends Up in Assault Units 1:21:03 - The 155th Brigade Scandal: "Just Dissolve It" Produced by the Borderlands Foundation. 🎧 Listen & subscribe: All episodes: https://ukrainemilitaryhistory.org/ Apple: https://ukrainemilitaryhistory.s.gy/d6Vm9D Spotify: https://ukrainemilitaryhistory.s.gy/bEE3Y9 Amazon: https://ukrainemilitaryhistory.s.gy/hun4CH ▶ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineMilitaryHistory
