World Tour: War within the war

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour.

In Ukraine, summer has brought fast-moving changes, from the battlefield and global diplomacy to the streets of the capital of Kyiv.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Ukrainian forces fighting Russia may be gaining an edge—but a political crisis and weeks-long protests have meant ongoing challenges.

WORLD correspondent William Fleeson has this week’s World Tour.

AUDIO: “Odna, Yedina, Svobodna Ukraïna!” – “One and only, free Ukraine!”

WILLIAM FLEESON, CORRESPONDENT: Chants like these have echoed across Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities since mid-July. That’s when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired defense minister Mykhailo Fédorov. The dismissal came after an apparent power struggle between Fédorov and the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Ukrainians took to the streets over Fédorov’s dismissal. Many felt his tech-focused strategies were working in the years-long conflict.

After his firing, Fédorov held a press conference – and sharply criticized Syrskyi.

FEDOROV: [UKRAINIAN] Instead of figuring out how to defeat Russa—which is the commander-in-chief’s task—he has figured out how to split the country.

Fédorov says here that Syrskyi managed not to defeat Russia, but to divide Ukraine instead.

Days later, Zelenskyy reversed course – sort of. He removed Syrskyi from his position as armed forces chief. Meanwhile, Fédorov is still holding out for his old job, but Zelenskyy has yet to budge.

The conflict between the two leaders is as much a matter of policy, as a clash between generations.

The popular Fédorov is a 35-year-old tech leader known to butt heads with the older Syrskyi. Many Ukrainians see Syrskyi as a symbol of outdated battle tactics, and attitudes, left over from Ukraine’s days as part of the Soviet Union.

For many Ukrainian civilians, politics have become personal… as their fathers, husbands, and brothers serve at the front.

BOHDANOVSKA: If our government could support more [the] army, and think more about people than about their victory or their money, my brother could be alive.

That’s Tetiana Bohdánovska, a protester in Kyiv. She held a hand-made, cardboard sign urging Fédorov’s return.

The protesters also want to protect recent gains on Ukraine’s side of the battlefield – and deep within Russia. With new, long-range drones, Ukraine can now strike targets up to 1,800 miles away.

Ukraine has spent months hitting Russian oil terminals. Oil exports help Russia fund the war.

Additionally, widespread fuel shortages have also brought the war closer to home for ordinary Russians. Ukraine’s attacks have focused especially on Crimea, a shipping hub. Damaged oil depots have left people waiting for hours at gas stations across Crimea and other, former Soviet regions.

Following the strikes, Russian online searches, like “When will the war end?” and “How to leave Russia?” hit record levels.

AUDIO: [RUSSIAN] Man, I just wish this war would end… So many people are dying, so many businesses are suffering.”

This man laments that people are dying and businesses are suffering.

Russia has responded by ratcheting up strikes on civilian targets across Ukraine. June became the bloodiest month for civilian casualties in more than four years. The United Nations says nearly 300 civilians were killed, and almost 1,800 wounded.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy’s relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump has warmed in recent weeks. The two met at the White House yesterday morning, before the Washington funeral of South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, one of America’s biggest Ukraine supporters. A Congressional bill now underway may add new sanctions to Russian groups. The bill was a longtime project of Graham’s.

In an online message, Zelenskyy offered condolences for Graham’s death, calling him a “true friend of Ukraine.” The White House did not immediately release a statement about the meeting, but Zelenskyy thanked the United States for its support, saying the two presidents discussed weapons and diplomacy.

That’s this week’s World Tour. I’m William Fleeson.

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