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2 direct mentions across 2 briefings, with 2 linked developments.
Latest linked intelligence
Thousands protested the firing of former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov accused commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi of obstructing military-modernization initiatives and that protesters called for Syrskyi’s removal.
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Thousands protested the firing of former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov accused commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi of obstructing military-modernization initiatives and that protesters called for Syrskyi’s removal.
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Mykhailo Fedorov dossier
2 mapped developments across 1 map positions. Centroid markers show geographic scope, not an exact incident site.
Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months. Unnamed insiders attributed the move to clashes with senior generals and established defense contractors over Fedorov’s approach to warfare.
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Chronology
Off Leash update 17 July 2026 UKRAINE •Ukraine's former defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, isn't taking his sacking quietly. Nor were the thousands of his supporters who turned out to protest his firing. •Fedorov spoke out against Ukraine's top general, Oleksandr Syrskyi, accusing the commander in chief of "blocking all of our initiatives" and complaining that "instead of figuring out how to defeat Russia asymmetrically...hefigured out how to split the country." •Fedorov and Syrskyi clashed over Federov's efforts to modernize the military, despite the success of innovations like drone technology that he introduced. Protesters are now calling for Syrskyi to be removed instead. IRAN •U.S. airstrikes targeted infrastructure in Iran - including an airport, a train station, and several bridges - and Iran hit back at U.S. military targets in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and (for the first known time) Syria. •Iran said the Syrian strike on a U.S. special operations command center in al Tanf was in retaliation for U.S. strikes that killed Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr. There were no U.S. casualties; the U.S. withdrew troops from al Tanf in February (probably at Pres. al Sharaa's request: al Sharaa doesn't want to get involved in the U.S.-Iran war). CHINA •In a televised address, Pres. Trump accused China of stealing voter files on about 220 million Americans and using them to influence the 2020 election in Joe Biden's favor. China vehemently denied Trump's claim, saying it "has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the U.S." •Shortly after Trump's address, China's leader, Xi Jinping, struck a much more friendly tone at the AI conference he's hosting in Shanghai: "With AI advancing at a staggering speed, we must ensure its development is for positive, for good, and for humanity." VENEZUELA •A CIA analysis of almost 20 years of intelligence on Venezuelan elections concluded that Venezuelan officials had "some capability in manipulating electronic voting systems" to alter up to 1.5 million votes in the country's elections since 2012. •The report cautioned that there was no definitive evidence that the Maduro regime pulled off "large-scale electronic fraud" this way (Nicolas Maduro had other ways of rigging elections in his favor, like bullying the opposition out of challenging him in polls). It also clarified that there was no evidence that Maduro's regime had any ability to influence elections in other countries using Smartmatic machines.
Open source reportOff Leash update 16 July 2026 IRAN •The U.S. carried out more strikes on Iran, including one that debilitated an empty tanker heading to Kharg Island to load oil. Iran hit back with strikes on U.S. military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. •Iran responded to Pres. Trump's threats to strike Iranian infrastructure with an ominous warning that it would retaliate in kind and "all infrastructure in the region will be crushed under steel blows.” •Still, Iran's chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Brig. Gen. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, signaled openness to "diplomacy and negotiations" - in addition to war - in an address to the nation. •Ghalibaf is one of the more moderate voices in Iran's leadership, and he faces resistance - and even physical attacks - from hardliners who despise the idea of negotiating with the enemy. Immediately after Ghalibaf's televised address, a foreign ministry spokesman denied that Iran had any intention of resuming talks. •Meanwhile, an internal Pentagon estimate concluded that the total cost of the Iran war could reach $80 to $100 billion - far higher than the public estimate of $31 billion, which omitted many of the costs of indirectly supporting the operation. UKRAINE •Pres. Zelensky sacked his defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, after just six months. Insiders say the 35-year-old leader of Ukraine's game-changing drone program clashed with older generals in his ministry and established defense contractors who resented his innovative approach to warfare. HONG KONG •Authorities in Hong Kong raided independent bookstores yesterday, seizing books with "seditious content" - reportedly including a biography of jailed pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai - and arresting five booksellers for stocking content "with seditious intention." •This was the third recent round of raids on independent bookstores in Hong Kong, and part of a broader crackdown on dissent enabled by a draconian 2024 national security law that punishes "seditious intention" with up to seven years imprisonment. VENEZUELA •Venezuela's interim government announced that it will begin talks with the opposition, with the goal of "strengthening democracy." The government is floundering for legitimacy after botching its response to devastating twin earthquakes, and it probably hopes the opposition will have some better governance ideas. •The opposition's popular leader, Maria Corina Machado, will not lead talks with the government. She remains in exile - though the U.S. is now encouraging the interim government to welcome her back to Venezuela.
Open source report