Putin's War on Ukraine

Invasion is one of the first works to come out on the current conflict in Ukraine. While this is not strictly a military history, Harding being a reporter from the region does provide information on the background leading up to the invasion. He carries the story roughly up to the Fall of 2022. As such it does not contain information on the most recent military events.

Harding was a reporter in Russia in 2011, when he ran afoul of the regime by attempting to report on the alleged hidden wealth of Putin. He relocated to Ukraine and was there in the months leading up to and including the initial invasion. He is therefore well suited to provide a good look at the people and events surrounding the conflict.

After providing some background leading up to the Invasion on February 24, 2022, Harding has a series of interviews with Ukrainians, both civilians and military. He provides very interesting looks at the different leadership styles of Putin and Zelenskyy. There are roughly ten chapters in this book, each dealing with a particular aspect of the invasion. Again, this work does not attempt to provide a comprehensive look at the war. Rather it is one journalist's perspective on the people and events surrounding it. As such it is decidedly Ukrainian in its outlook, for the most part simply because the author is now banned from Russia! Still, there are some vivid descriptions of the fighting in those early months of 2022 when the question of Ukraine's survival was very much in the balance.

Harding provides a good look at the desperate fighting that took place. There are several interviews with participants who made news headlines at the time. Including the Ukrainian driver who came across Russian troops in an APC on the road during the early hours of the invasion, who, asking where they were going, was told they were not sure, and he then calmly suggested that they should turn around and go home! There's also the commander of the famous Snake Island Detachment, who defied the Russian cruiser Moscova, which ironically was sunk a few months later by Ukrainian Neptune missiles. The ship might have been saved, but Russian naval training is not good at damage control; a U.S. ship would have likely survived such a hit.

Another chapter deals with the gallant defense of Mariupol. Harding dispels the many accusations that the Azov Battalion, which was the backbone of the defense of the steel works there, was largely comprised of supposed Right Wing Extremists and Nazis, as "de-Nazification" is the main buzz word used by the Putin regime to explain the reasons for its "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine. There are some moving descriptions of this Alamo-like last stand. Individual stories of many survivors who somehow made their way back to Ukraine or who were able to escape before the city fell provides exciting reading.

Harding writes in a vivid and compelling style as it is firsthand reporting from the participants themselves. They tell their own story without embellishment. Again, while not a hardcore military history this is a very good introduction to the conflict. The book reads like a fast paced story with excellent eye-witness accounts of events.

I found it a real page turner. Harding provides a moving look at the spirit of the Ukrainian people and why they are motivated to fight and win. The odds they face are indeed formidable. Clearly the issue is in doubt and Harding is quick to make this point. It remains to be seen whether the individualism of the Ukrainians who draw upon their Cossack past can prevail against the clumsy central might of Russia. Those looking for a good intro read on this conflict will certainly find this book worthwhile. Until more comprehensive histories come out Invasion is certainly a good place to start.

Note: Invasion: The Inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival is also available in audio- and e-editions.

StrategyPage reviews are published in cooperation with The New York Military Affairs Symposium

www.nymas.org