🧵Before Ukraine replaced its top general, Russian state media made a bizarre public plea to Kyiv:
"It is difficult to find someone worse... So, let him stay."
Ukraine fired him anyway. The revised Russian review came in five words: "And this is bad for us." 1/🇺🇦⬇️🇷🇺🦩🧵
"It is difficult to find someone worse... So, let him stay."
Ukraine fired him anyway. The revised Russian review came in five words: "And this is bad for us." 1/🇺🇦⬇️🇷🇺🦩🧵
The general Moscow wanted to keep was Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi. Russian war bloggers openly celebrated him as the Ukrainian equivalent of Gerasimov.
But a cardboard sign rebellion in the streets of Kyiv demanded the military stop protecting old careers. 2/
But a cardboard sign rebellion in the streets of Kyiv demanded the military stop protecting old careers. 2/
Thousands of Ukrainians, including combat veterans, gathered nightly to protest a military culture that resisted drones and suppressed junior commanders.
One sign delivered the generational case in a single sentence: "Fedorov is innovation, old grandpas are degeneration." 3/
One sign delivered the generational case in a single sentence: "Fedorov is innovation, old grandpas are degeneration." 3/
The crowd wanted commanders who actually learned from the war. President Zelenskyy listened.
He appointed Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi. At 43, Drapatyi rose through direct combat, famously driving a "flying BMP" through a barricade in Mariupol in 2014. 4/
He appointed Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi. At 43, Drapatyi rose through direct combat, famously driving a "flying BMP" through a barricade in Mariupol in 2014. 4/
Drapatyi is a nightmare for a rigid, top down enemy because he takes the blame.
In 2025, after a Russian missile killed 12 soldiers at a training ground, Drapatyi publicly resigned his post as Ground Forces commander out of pure personal responsibility. 5/
In 2025, after a Russian missile killed 12 soldiers at a training ground, Drapatyi publicly resigned his post as Ground Forces commander out of pure personal responsibility. 5/
"Circular responsibility and impunity are poison for the army," Drapatyi wrote. "An army where no one is responsible for the losses is dying from within."
This level of extreme accountability is the exact opposite of Russian military culture. 6/
This level of extreme accountability is the exact opposite of Russian military culture. 6/
Unlike Russian generals who issue blind orders, Drapatyi built his reputation by asking brigade commanders what support they actually needed.
A commander who asks questions gets answers that might embarrass his plan. A commander who stays silent gets his men killed. 7/
A commander who asks questions gets answers that might embarrass his plan. A commander who stays silent gets his men killed. 7/
It is not just about one general. Russian bloggers are terrified of Ukraine’s new "role based qualification" doctrine.
Under this system, the military abandons strict seniority and rates soldiers purely by what they can actually execute under fire. 8/
Under this system, the military abandons strict seniority and rates soldiers purely by what they can actually execute under fire. 8/
One Russian blogger read the proposal and warned the Russian General Staff of exactly what it meant.
Ukraine is now perfectly willing to put a competent sergeant in charge of incompetent majors just to get results. They are breaking the hierarchy to win. 9/
Ukraine is now perfectly willing to put a competent sergeant in charge of incompetent majors just to get results. They are breaking the hierarchy to win. 9/
The cultural gap between the two armies is now a chasm.
While Ukraine promotes based on competence, official Russian recruitment videos are so bleak that one blogger summarized their message in capital letters: "INFANTRY = DEATH." 10/
While Ukraine promotes based on competence, official Russian recruitment videos are so bleak that one blogger summarized their message in capital letters: "INFANTRY = DEATH." 10/
Ukraine is pushing this exact same adaptability into its defense industry.
They are now license building British L119 artillery pieces at home. They want total control of their own repair and sustainment lines, rather than waiting on foreign schedules. 11/
They are now license building British L119 artillery pieces at home. They want total control of their own repair and sustainment lines, rather than waiting on foreign schedules. 11/
The capability is even flowing backward. Ukraine is now exporting its lethal Magura naval drone designs to America, to be manufactured in Oregon and South Carolina.
Knowledge and combat doctrine are no longer just flowing into Ukraine. They are moving outward. 12/
Knowledge and combat doctrine are no longer just flowing into Ukraine. They are moving outward. 12/
The Ukrainian military is building feedback loops everywhere, down to waiting for combat reports from female soldiers before ordering the next batch of body armor.
They are fixing their own bureaucracy in the middle of a war. 13/
They are fixing their own bureaucracy in the middle of a war. 13/
Moscow desperately wanted Ukraine to keep a stagnant, rigid command culture that protected old careers.
Instead, they are facing a military that actually learns from its mistakes. The Russian bloggers were right. This is bad for them. 14/
Instead, they are facing a military that actually learns from its mistakes. The Russian bloggers were right. This is bad for them. 14/
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