An opposition MP, who asked not to be identified, put it more directly.

“99 percent of these young people on the street have no idea how the Ministry of Defense works or how the General Staff works,” he said.

“They think Fedorov is good because he wants to fight with drones and Syrskyi was bad because he was looking for people to fight with. It’s a dramatic simplification that is totally wrong.”

But perhaps it is understandable in a country exhausted by 12 years of war with Russia. Who wouldn’t want to believe that drones and robots could do the job, rather than a member of their own family, crudely recruited from the streets of their own hometown?

Everyone agrees that Ukraine needs to put this politically toxic episode behind it before summer gives way to fall and the country prepares for another Russian attack on its energy grid.

“We need to prepare to get through the winter,” Zelensky said Thursday on the Telegram messaging app.

Politicians and experts interviewed for this article mostly agree that, while the political damage from this episode continues to undermine President Zelensky’s authority and reputation, Ukraine is unlikely to experience significant setbacks on the battlefield.

What Zelensky calls his “far-reaching sanctions” campaign against Russia is in full swing, causing increasing damage to the Russian economy.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s long front lines remain largely static, thanks to a “death zone” 15 to 30 kilometers (9 to 18 miles) wide where anything or anyone that moves is watched and attacked by drones.

As a young and still relatively immature democracy, Ukraine’s institutions have come under colossal pressure from Russia’s large-scale invasion. But many maintain that the country remains resilient and resourceful.

“The secret of Ukraine’s success is that we are much stronger horizontally than vertically,” opposition MP Andrii Osadchuk told me.

“I hope the damage is minimal.”