ConflictFired Ukraine Defense Chief Warns Tech War as Missiles Strike 560 Miles Into RussiaAired August 16, 2026 at 9:49 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Ukraine has struck a Russian space0:01agency facility about 560 miles from its0:04border using new Ukrainian produced0:06Flamingo missiles, [music]0:07even as a fracture at the top of its0:09wartime command has removed both the0:11defense minister and the top general.0:13[music] The ousted defense minister is0:1435-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov, described0:17as [music] the architect of Ukraine's0:19modern war-fighting strategy built0:20around drones and robots. [music]0:22President Volodymyr Zelensky fired him0:24in mid-July citing an irreconcilable0:27feud with top general Oleksandr Syrskyi.0:30Fedorov declined to discuss the reason0:32[music] for his firing with an American0:33audience, but said Ukraine will continue0:35to fight. Under Fedorov, [music]0:37Ukraine's deep strikes into Russia0:39increased tenfold, a shift now visible0:41in the reach of its newer weapons. Early0:43Saturday, Zelensky posted that the new0:46Flamingo missiles hit the Russian space0:47agency facility in Samara about 5600:51miles from Ukraine's border,0:52underscoring how far that expanded0:54strike range now extends. Fedorov said0:56Ukraine is in a technological war with0:58Russia and must defeat Russia in every1:00technological cycle, [music]1:02requiring constant innovation and 24/71:04decision-making. He noted most Russian1:06ballistic missiles are now reaching1:08their targets, raising [music] the1:09pressure on Ukraine's own long-range1:11programs. The sequence spans a June1:13ballistic missile test, the mid-July1:15firing that drew protest by thousands,1:17the removal of the top general about1:19[music] a week later, an exclusive1:20interview published August 15th, and the1:22early Saturday strike in Samara claimed1:24afterward. A Ukrainian company tested a1:26ballistic missile in June and Fedorov1:29[music] estimated three to six months1:30until a Ukrainian-made ballistic missile1:32is striking inside [music] Russia,1:34placing the window between September and1:36December. What is not yet established1:38[music] is the specific nature of the1:40feud, how much damage the Samara strike1:42caused and whether it degraded1:44operations, the specifications [music]1:46and production status of the domestic1:48ballistic missile beyond the three to1:49six month [music] estimate, and how the1:51defense command will be organized and1:53what future roles Fedorov and Syrskyi1:55will hold. The account of the1:57technological war warning and the1:58leadership dispute comes from a single2:00exclusive interview published August2:0215th [music] that has not yet been2:03independently corroborated.2:06Like and follow for more stories that2:07matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗