July 2026 Update - Big Changes in Ukraine & Electronic Warfare
Normally, our newsletter begins with a brief overview regarding political and military events. However, with the reshuffling of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense as well as the army command, July saw far more events than "ordinary times of war" (if there is such a thing). Therefore, current events are wrapped into a separate article this time. Of course, we have ample UAO news - back-to-back frontline deliveries like never before, or our new fundraiser for the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade.
Donate here towards Electronic Warfare Tech (112th Brigade): DONATE
Our July 2026 UAO newsletter provides you with updates about our most recent work in Ukraine - enabled by your generous donations:
- Turbulent political reshuffles in Ukraine
- UAO front zone updates: Promises became deliveries
- Chornobyl revisited: A day like no other with the 112th (new fundraiser)
Your UAO Volunteer Team
Big Political Changes in Ukraine: Our Perspective
Rarely has there been a similarly momentous month for Ukraine. What began with an unexpected government reshuffle rapidly spiralled out of control to become the source of still on-going civil unrest.
What happened? On 12th July, President Zelenskyi decided to replace Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko with Naftogaz CEO Serhii Koretskyi, counting on the former to take over as ambassador to the U.S., after incumbent Olha Stefanishyna - embroiled in an investigation by NABU (Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency) - decided to resign from her position. However, to his surprise, Svyrydenko declined and the post remains vacant. On 15th July, Zelenskyi removed the very popular Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov from his position, after only six months in office - with Fedorov having replaced Denys Shmyhal after a similarly short tenure.
After having informed Zelenskyi in no uncertain terms that the Commander in Chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, should be dismissed - for various unwholesome reasons that alone would warrant writing a novel - Zelenskyi decided on 15th July that Fedorov had to go instead. Ukrainian civil society was shocked and took to the streets (below you can read why Fedorov is a very popular figure in Ukrainian politics). Western partners were surprised and not pleased.
The day after, on 16th July, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament), approved Koretsky as Prime Minister, and Zelenskyi attempted to install then Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko as a new Minister of Defence. The same day, after failing to secure sufficient parliamentary support, Zelenskyi appointed Yevhenii Khmara as acting (read interim) Minister of Defence instead - a highly regarded Major General of Snake Island and Operation Spiderweb fame, previously leader of the Special Operations Center “A” of the SBU, and, since January, head of the SBU proper.
Why Fedorov is so popular? It soon transpired that the reasons for Fedorov’s removal were irreconcilable disagreements with Zelenskyi and Syrskyi. Fedorov, already having served as Deputy Prime Minister and widely acclaimed Minister of Digital Transformation for six years, undertook various initiatives in his short tenure - from rebalancing defence production procurement towards more innovative systems to combatting entrenched corruption networks nested deeply in the military-industrial nexus. In both ministerial roles, Fedorov rapidly earned much respect from the civil society and - being a young and energetic outspoken achiever - became yet another potential presidency candidate, besides Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Dmytro Kuleba, and Kyrylo Budanov.
After citizens all over Ukraine continued to rally strongly in favour of Fedorov, and demanding Syrskyi’s removal, and also highly esteemed military commanders offered their resignation - Zelenskyi finally also dismissed Syrskyi on 21st July and, after deliberations with senior military officers, replaced him with Mykhailo Drapatyi, a highly regarded Major General that has held several high-ranking positions and received numerous highest-order national awards. To calm the situation down, Zelensky offered Fedorov other influential posts, but to no avail, as the latter will only accept reinstatement as Minister of Defence - or no governmental role at all. By the time you receive this newsletter, this drama of Shakespearean proportions may well have seen new plot twists.
UAO volunteers met Ukraine's political and military leadership on several occasions - including General Budanov (Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine) or General Zaluzhnyi (former Commander-in-Chief).
On the ground, air, and abroad: All the while, the sustained Ukrainian mid- and long-range strike campaigns keep delivering good results. Russian military hinterland logistics continue to be severely disrupted, just like nationwide supply of petrol and diesel fuel. More spectacularly, Ukraine managed to turn several Wildberries warehouses into volcanoes, destroying goods worth well over $1 billion in the process. Wildberries is far more than the Russian equivalent of Amazon; it is a popular trading hub and fulfilment centre for certain military goods also. Thousands of online sellers face ruin for denial of insurance payouts, yet fail to ask themselves what the true reason for their predicament is. Instead, like their petrol station queue comrades, they bemoan themselves on social media, mired in self-pity and bewilderment.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyi flew to the U.S. to honour the late Senator Lindsey Graham, and for a meeting with President Trump. The meeting lasted about an hour, behind closed doors, but Zelensky was quoted that the meeting was amicable, without providing concrete details.
That said, not all is plain sailing, as the autumn and winter seasons are lurking below the horizon. Due to steadily increasing deliveries of “dual use” goods from its allies, Russia’s ballistic missile, strike drone, and glide bomb production keeps rising, and so does the number of highly destructive assaults - not only on Kyiv, but particularly on the Ukrainian front zone cities from Sumy to Kharkiv, from Slovyansk to Kherson. As a consequence, the number of wounded and killed civilians has sharply risen by nearly 40% in the first half of 2026. Also, while the summer harvest season is in full swing, Russia targets not only Ukrainian grain storage and shipping terminals, but now also foreign cargo vessels, and insurers decline cover. As a result, Ukrainian grain exports, essential for many nations in the “global south”, are already down by over 30% and are in danger of collapsing further, with shipping via the Danube, or by rail and truck, by no means able to even remotely compensate for the lost seaborne volume.
At last, after being forced to cancel the “Navy Day” parade, Putin doubled down on his war goals in yet another televised barely coherent ramble, claiming that all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnipro is “historically” Russian. Putin is expected to purchase up to 30,000 North Korean mercenaries and mobilise after the Duma “elections” in September for a northern incursion and for capturing Slovyansk and Kramatorsk this winter.
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UAO Front Zone Updates: Promises became deliveries
In June, we achieved key milestones and were rewarded with much paperwork, which we gladly processed. This month, the procured abundance of equipment duly arrived - generators, power stations, thermal vision cameras, ground drones - and so, July saw an incessant daily flow of deliveries to many brigades in all front zones.
Electrifying the front zones
Also this month, equipment for electricity generation and storage remained the single most requested item by any unit. At least 100 generators and 90 powerstations were given out. The Special Forces of the 12th Azov Brigade received a truly enormous delivery - eight generators and eight power stations. The 20th Operational Brigade "Lubart" received ten additional generators. The 5th Assault Brigade, the 65th Brigade, the 3rd Separate Special Purpose Regiment, the 118th Territorial Defense Brigade, the 22nd Brigade, and the 25th "Sicheslav" Airborne Brigade all received generators, power stations, or both.
We also concluded the large scale generator procurement and delivery project we started in april in coo[eration with a numder of Dutch charities: 58 industrial sized generators (15-40 KW) - have already found their way to brigades that needed them most. Two went to the 18th Sloviansk Brigade, stationed in an area with hardly any electricity supply - the soldier’s cheerful reaction upon arrival made us realise just how badly it was needed. Dutch charity Protect Ukraine paid for 30 of these industrial generators.
Most of the remaining electricity generation and storage equipment delivered this month was funded by the Diel Foundation, our steadfast Dutch partner, with additional power stations donated by a growing group of Dutch volunteer drivers.
The equipment (vehicles, generators, power stations, and drones) sourced from our Reddit fundraiser began to arrive - here, the 22nd Brigade picks up their equipment from Yuri
Your first Reddit donations reached the front
Our fundraiser "Reddit power for Ukraine" launched in June, across 30 subreddits. In July, the first equipment funded by that campaign was delivered - and we are delighted to report that it went straight to the units that needed it most.
Two Mavic 4T thermal vision drones were delivered to the KRAKEN unit, while Omega and 54th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion also received two each. Thermal drones are essential for reconnaissance teams to work through the night, when most Russian movement occurs, and they are the type of equipment that is difficult to fund without a broad base of small donor support. 22nd brigade received a van, energy items and starlinks from the fundraiser.
Over $50,000 were raised by Reddit communities so far. To every Redditor who donated, upvoted, cross-posted, or argued with a stranger about why it matters: Thank you so much - you made it happen and continue doing so!
These two Mavic 4T Thermal drones were delivered to the KRAKEN unit - thanks to your strong support to the Reddit fundraiser!
Targan ground drones keep rolling in
A new batch of "Targan" ground drones arrived at our warehouse in early July, and several did not remain there for long. One was delivered to the 37th Marine Brigade, funded through a fundraiser run with Preston Stewart. The Raven group of the 10th Unmanned Systems Detachment received another - unmanned systems support for unmanned systems soldiers. Also, the 12th Azov Brigade received one alongside generators and power stations, and the paratroopers of the 25th Brigade collected one directly from our warehouse at the end of the month.
Unmanned vehicles deliver ammunition, water, and food to positions that humans could only reach with unacceptable risk, but they also evacuate the wounded. Many of you supported our “Four wheeled friends” fundraiser, and because of that, we can deliver.
A large delivery for the paratroopers from the 25th Brigade. The unit visited the UAO warehouse to pick up a „Targan“ ground drone, plus many power stations and generators
Communication and transportation
Also Starlink terminals reached all front zones in July; approx 80 in total. The Khartiia Brigade received four that immediately went to positions where communication had to be restored. The 118th Territorial Defense Brigade received four, the 5th Assault Brigade four, the 3rd Separate Special Purpose Regiment received five Starlink Mini Kits with two vehicle mounts, and additional terminals went to the 65th Brigade, the 3rd SOF Regiment, and the 25th "Sicheslav" Brigade.
A number of cars were delivered also: 82nd Air Assault Brigade, Tymur, 22nd brigade, 141st Mechanized, financed by the Diel Foundation. The 112th Territorial Defense Brigade received a van: A reminder that, while most of the units we supply are air assault, marine, or special operations formations, soldiers from the Territorial Defense are not forgotten. Henk and Floris drove the van to Ukraine from the Netherlands.
The 22nd Brigade received tablets and a Mavic 3 drone, and the 5th Assault Brigade received tablets alongside generators and power stations.
Also small items matter much - the Special Operation Forces received five Starlink Mini kits with two car mounts; and three weeks ago, we delivered a van to the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade
To our generous enablers
None of the above is a solo effort, and we would like to name the people and organisations who made it happen with us this month.
Our deepest thanks go to the Diel Foundation, funding the majority of July's deliveries, and to Protect Ukraine, keeping the flow of Starlink terminals and generators running. Thanks also to Ruben and his Dutch sponsors, to Tadeusz and friends, to Preston Stewart and his community, and to the 30 Reddit communities who turned online solidarity into thermal vision drones for the front zones.
Also, many thanks to the volunteers who transported the equipment all the way to Ukraine: Jan T., Joey, Jan Pieter, Henk, Floris, and Koen. Vehicles do not deliver themselves, and they generously drove them, donating their precious time.
To our anonymous donors, our monthly supporters, and everyone who bought an item from our Victory Gallery this month: You all contributed to the above also - thanks!
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Chornobyl Revisited: A day like no other with the 112th
From the shore of the Kyiv Sea: The 112th's next step in electronic warfare
Some deliveries come with a story attached — this one is worth telling. When UAO recently handed over a van to the 112th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, the team didn't just take the keys and send us on our way - they took us on an excursion we won't soon forget.
The 112th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade has defended Kyiv Oblast since the earliest days of the full-scale invasion - through Hostomel, Bucha, Irpin, and Moshchun. Today the brigade still holds responsibility for defense, including electronic warfare (EW) and air defense, across five sectors along the front, among them the Chornobyl exclusion zone. So when we made an appointment to discuss their new EW project, they kindly invited us for a tour at this illustrious place.
First stop was the Duga radar, the enormous Cold War-era “over-the-horizon” early warning system hidden in the forest near Chornobyl. Built to detect intercontinental missile launches within minutes of liftoff, its antenna stands roughly 150 metres high and stretches nearly 700 metres - so large that Soviet maps disguised the site as a children's summer camp. For years its broadcast was infamous around the world as the “Russian Woodpecker,” a tapping shortwave signal that bled into radios on every continent long before its source was ever confirmed.
The UAO team in "Duga" (the huge radar structure) - built next to Chornobyl.
Lunch was at the parking space of Reactor 4 - while we enjoyed our hamburgers we watched the now repaired hole which Russia inflicted on the massive stainless steel protector. A slightly surreal lunch spot, to say the least. At the plant's cooling pond, we fed the catfish that have made the place famous - some over a metre and a half long. Despite their reputation as radioactive mutants, biologists say the explanation is much simpler: with no predators and no fishing allowed inside the zone, the fish just get old, and catfish can live for decades.
Later, 112th prepared a lovely dinner for us in the woods near the Kyiv Sea and it was there, after the meal, that their EW team walked us through the details of their new project.
Three years ago, UAO delivered 112th their first jammers. They could block three frequencies. Back then, that was enough.
Since then, we've helped upgrade their equipment to cover 12 frequencies. But the Russians have kept adapting too - spreading their drone control signals across as many as 40 frequencies. Brute-force jamming, blasting noise across the whole spectrum and hoping to catch something, simply can't keep up anymore.
112th has built something smarter. Instead of drowning every frequency in noise, their new systems scan a sector in seconds, build a precise profile of the actual signals present, and then generate a matching counter-signal tuned to exactly that profile. The whole cycle - detect, profile, counter - takes minutes, sometimes seconds. It's the difference between swinging blindly and a well-aimed response. The EW company is so skilled in indicating patterns, that they are able to not just recognize the exact radio profile of the drone, but even the person flying it. “Every pilot leaves fingerprints in the way he programs and handles his controls,” the team explained. “We see a drone flying, and we say: hey, there's that guy again, flying a new drone.”
Donate here towards Electronic Warfare Tech (112th Brigade): DONATE
The warriors from the 112th Brigade demonstrate their Electronic Warfare capabilities to the UAO team. Our new fundraiser will help them to extend these even more.
Thank you for standing strong with Ukraine. Together we will win this war!
Sincerely, the UAO Volunteer Team.
Heroyam Slava!
