This is the second volume on the war in Ukraine. Where the first one concentrated on the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic, this one starts at the formation of the Ukraine republic after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Like the previous volume, it concentrates on both the political and military condition of the nation. It would not be far fetched to state that Ukraine was not a well managed nation in 1991/92. It was run by very corrupt politicians and its military was in the throes of being generally downsized to a ghost of what was there when the Soviets were in control.

So weak was the Ukraine military that the Russians were able to easily take over the entire Crimean peninsula and they basically bankrolled and assisted the break away sections of Donetsk and Luhansk. After the 2014 issues and the realization that something needed to be done to improve the military, the nation got serious about things and while the budget was small, improvements started to be made. There was still the issue of corruption and this went somewhat unabated until the current president of the nation took office in 2019. He was able to restore the West's faith in the nation and found it easier to get assistance in training his forces.

The book also covers the Russian side of things. The Russians have always held the upper hand in terms of troop numbers and equipment. They were further emboldened by their actions in Crimea and Syria. This led to their thinking that they could simply walk over the Ukrainian forces. As we have seen, this did not happen. During the time since the 2014 annexation, Ukraine had gotten stronger, wiser, and somewhat better equipped to handle the invaders.

This volume covers the years leading up to the Russian invasion and about the first week or so of fighting, taking us into March 2022. The Russians did have some successes and they also had quite a few failures, including a big one in their failure to capture the capital city of Kyiv. The fighting showed that the Russian Army and air forces were by no means invincible and it was basically the lack of numbers and equipment on Ukraine's side that allowed for the advancements they did make. I'm sure there will be additional volumes on the war as things continue. Right now, this is an excellent look at what has gone on up until March of 2022. It is a superb book with lots of full color photos and the usual profiles and maps for which the series is known. It is most highly recommended for those interested in this on-going conflict.

July 2023

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