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Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Warns Country is Slowly Losing War

morning · · thread: Civilians Face Shelter Shortages in Kyiv as EU Restricts Flight for Military Age Men

4 sources across 3 countries · United Kingdom · Japan · Latvia

Who reported this

  • The Guardian United Kingdom · Centre-left · Scott Trust Limited
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • The Japan Times Japan · Centre · News2u Holdings
  • Meduza Latvia · Centre-left · Crowdfunded; exiled Russian newsroom

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told Reuters that Ukraine is slowly losing the war against Russia due to a lack of an overall vision for victory. Fedorov stated that while technologies such as AI controlled drones and ballistic missiles could turn the tide, the country lacks a unified strategy to deploy them effectively. He further criticized the Ukrainian state for inefficiency, claiming it operates at only 5 percent effectiveness, and cited corruption and slow technology adoption as significant hurdles.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office responded by stating that Fedorov had been positive about the war's progress while serving in his role. Zelenskyy also alleged that Fedorov's spending decisions created a 27 billion dollar hole in the defense ministry budget, a figure Fedorov has denied. Fedorov, who was dismissed in July 2026 following a clash with then commander in chief Oleksandr Syrsky, has since called for elections to be held before the war ends. The presidential office described this proposal as showing a complete lack of realism.

Center left outlets frame the situation as a critical turning point involving systemic failure and political friction, while center outlets focus on the necessity of strategic changes to avoid defeat.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These outlets emphasized the internal dysfunction, corruption, and the political conflict between Fedorov and Zelenskyy.
Centre
These outlets focused on the need for strategic changes and the warning of potential loss.

Sources

93% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.