Ukraine's Acting Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara Calls for Asymmetric War Strategy FAST-MOVING
Yevhenii Khmara was appointed acting defence minister of Ukraine in July 2024 after the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov. In his first interview he said Ukraine cannot fight Russia "punch for punch" and must rely on asymmetric tactics, careful resource management and deep strikes that target Russian oil facilities, which have caused fuel shortages in several Russian regions. Khmara stressed the importance of producing Patriot interceptor missiles and noted that President Donald Trump announced a U.S. licence for Ukraine to manufacture them.
Khmara has also held high‑level talks with allies in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, seeking a strategic partnership, accelerated delivery of Patriot systems and expanded joint weapons production. Separately, Mykhailo Drapatyi was named commander‑in‑chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, pledging a greater focus on digital operations and modern technology. Shortly after his appointment, a coordinated disinformation campaign costing an estimated $10,000‑$20,000 created fake social‑media pages impersonating Drapatyi, illustrating the information‑war dimension of the conflict.
Entities: Donald Trump · Mykhailo Drapatyi · Mykhailo Fedorov · Oleksandr Syrskyi · Patriot interceptor missile · Patriot missile interceptors · Russia · Ukraine · United States · United States · Volodymyr Zelenskiy · Yevhenii Khmara
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Khmara is a former head of the SBU and special‑operations officer who helped plan Operation Spiderweb, using drone‑laden cargo trucks to strike Russian airfields. (Reuters report on July 24‑28 meetings)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Ukraine’s medium‑ and long‑range strikes have targeted Russian oil installations, causing fuel shortages in Russian regions. (Reuters interview)
- [● 13 SOURCES] President Donald Trump announced that the United States would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles. (multiple articles)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Khmara hopes Ukraine’s relations with the United States will become a lasting strategic partnership delivering Ukrainian warfare expertise. (Reuters interview)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] In meetings with U.S., British and German officials, Khmara discussed accelerating delivery of Patriot interceptors and joint weapons production, but received no new interceptor offers. (Reuters report on July 24‑28 meetings)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Yevhenii Khmara was appointed acting defense minister of Ukraine after Mykhailo Fedorov was removed. (Reuters interview)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Khmara said deep strikes seek to impose costs on Russia that exceed the cost of the attacks. (Reuters interview)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Khmara said Ukraine must act asymmetrically and cannot fight punch for punch with Russia. (Reuters interview)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Yevhenii Khmara is a former head of Ukraine’s SBU security service and a special‑operations veteran. (article 72b12f92-3db1-4969-9615-5fe069166951)
- [● 13 SOURCES] Khmara hopes Ukraine’s relationship with the United States will become a lasting strategic partnership. (multiple articles)
- [● 13 SOURCES] Khmara said Ukraine cannot fight Russia punch for punch and must adopt asymmetric tactics. (multiple articles)
- [● 13 SOURCES] President Trump and President Zelenskiy discussed reviving peace talks with Russia and plans for Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors. (multiple articles)