NEWS SHORTS AND UKRAINE

Sunday 16 August 2026

MORNING SUMMER SHORTS

· On Sunday, Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia. It was one of the largest aerial attacks of the war (AP News).

· A Spanish fighter jet shot down a drone that had entered Romanian airspace (AP News)

· The Wall Street Journal blames the problems of low morale in the U.S. Navy on the Democrats (note: Of course). (Wall Street Journal)

· “Gulf leaders worry the president is unable to manage the diplomacy necessary to secure peace with Iran…(The Washington Post)

· Putin threatens to retaliate if the West targets its “shadow fleet” (AP News)

· A large-scale Ukrainian attack struck industrial infrastructure in Russia’s southwestern Samara region (AP News, see map)

· “Ukraine’s military command said its forces liberated 26 settlements in a push around. Oleksandrvka in southeastern Ukraine, in an operation that ran for more than six months. The Institute for the Study of War Analysts framed the operation as evidence Ukraine can still mount coordinated, mechanized counterattacks after more than four years of largely static fighting.” (EruoNews)

NEWS NOTES

UKRAINE: MILITARY SHUFFLE

ARTICLE: d’Istria, Thomas (8/15/26) “Zelensky regains control after a month of political crisis.” Le Monde

· Protests of Zelensky’s firing of Federov are losing momentum, but Zelensky’s move to replace him is still seen as a serious political mistake.

· Zelensky dismissed the young defense minister, 35-year-0ld Mykhailo Fedorov on July 15. “Appointed only six months earlier, Fedorov had already been credited with notable successes in Ukraine’s drone warfare and with reforming a ministry long seen as disorganized and plagued by corruption.

· Protestors filled the streets changing “Federov. Federov. Federov. “A month later. The authorities seem to have brought the crisis under control. Zelensky notably managed to ease tension by firing Oleksandr Syrsky, The former commander in chief of the armed forces and replacing him…. Fedorov, meanwhile, remains without a post.”

· “The first challenge? was to explain why he had decided to dismiss a minister who was just beginning to prove himself. The stated reason of mounting tensions between Federov and Syrsky convinced few.”

· “Sources interviewed pointed instead to a combination of factors.” (1) The reforms implemented by Federov for arms procurement upset some defense industry leaders and generals. Tensions also arose with military command over control of resources. This created an “influential coalition of Federov’s adversaries in President Zelensky’s inner circle,” said political scientist Volodymyr Frsenko. (2) FEderov’s growing media profile, clashed with a political system tightly centered around the president.

· Federov was outraged by his removal and held a press conference that “resembled a mutiny” according to Le Monde. He gave his first interview with a periodical which has strained relationships with Zelensky, Ukrainska Pravda.

· Le Monde calls it all a “crisis of his own making.”

· (Note: Verkhovna Rada is Ukraine’s Parliament).

· “Fedorov’s popularity has risen sharply since the start of the crisis, while Zelinsky’s has dropped, according to several polls conducted in recent weeks.” Minimum. Minimum.

ARTICLE: Chemin, Ariane (7/22/26) “Zelensky forced to dismiss Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s armed forces chief. (Le Monde)

· Instead of “Federov” being repeatedly chanted by protesters in Ukraine, in July 2026 signs all over Ukraine were saying “Syrsky resign,” “Had enough of the old guard,” “Syrsky you’re the devil, “Syrsky out.”

· Zeleneky triggered the political crisis himself by unexpectedly appointing a new prime minister, Serji Lpretslu in mid-July.

· Fedorov was appointed six months earlier to modernize the military. Normally discreet, Fedorov took to the political arena “testing his popularity and firming up his ambitions.”

· Drapaty, the new commander in chief was born in Ukraine and “in some ways represents a synthesis of the two visions of the army…he favors more modern military command methods yet also commands respect among the more traditional senior officers. A

ARTICLE: Chemin, Ariane (8/17/26) “Zelensky sparks Ukraine political crisis with cabinet reshuffle.” Le Monde

· Serhiy Koretsky, 48, is the country’s new prime minister. He will have to prepare Ukraine for its fifth winter of war.

· Fedorov made way for Yevhenii Khmara

· “Fedorov had built a network of new military technology firms vital for holding the front, and his term coincided with the launch of drone programs enabling medium and long range missiles strikes inside Russia and military operations to isolate occupied Crimea.”

· Some of Zelensky’s observers attributed the president’s decision to An obsession “with not letting anyone stand out and his constat drive to ‘consolidate his power.” Others attribute the change to Zelensky and others’ drive to “break with the remnants of Soviet-era culture still deeply rooted in many administrative layers and the army.”

· “This is not just a conflict between two people, but more broadly between two approaches, even 2 generations, said Oleskander Marisko, chair of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee. Fedorov has become a kind of symbolic figure of the possible Ukrainian victory thanks to drone warfare, added the MP from the presidential party, explaining the groundswell of support. Many believe he paid the price for pushing reforms in a ministry known for its opacity and for targeting corruption networks.”

· “The New York Times. Merezko suggested Fedorov may have threatened the. Trust of certain people who had benefited from the Defense Ministry for years. For months, he had observed the campaign against Fedorov by various groups, including old guard generals and military contractors, on influential Telegram channels and in parliament.

BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ

Unger, Craig (2024) Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House. Boston and New York: Mariner Books.

Then, suddenly after the story appears, it was discredited. First, Newsweek ran three major stories saying that the October Surprise never happened. The New Republic and the Washington Post piled on. Anyone who believed the story was a “conspiratorialist.” Two Congressional investigations fizzled. Craig Unger, who continued covering the story was ostracized. He was then sued for $10 million dollars. Friends and editors refused to return telephone calls. The story was reported, then unreported. Just like that.

Unger spent decades on the story. “I could not unsee the hidden mechanisms of power that were really orchestrating these events. A vitally important chapter in contemporary Americans history was been erased and discredited…” Almost entirely Americans believed the cover-up.

__________________________________________________

LIFE NOTES

The cats are all back inside from their morning walk and curled up in one bed or the other taking their mid-day nap. Jake da Mouth (big black and white) is getting more and more bossy as he gets older. All he has to do it to dip his head a little bit while staring at someone, and they back off. He’s definitely the top cat and knows it. He almost never jumps anybody. He doesn’t have to. All he has to do it lower his head an inch and they retreat. This happened with Eddie twice this morning.

The male dominance hierarchy is an interesting thing to behold.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVEREDUCATED, CHILDLESS ELDERLY LADY (ACCORDING TO j. F…ING D. VANCE) WORKING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK