''A comprehensive overview.''
''[Ramani''s] encyclopedic descriptions... yield interesting details and... solid tactical analysis.''
''Looks behind the headlines to determine the motivations for the invasion and the likely path forward. Ramani is convincing in his view that the war marks a seismic shift in the geopolitical landscape. Clear-minded and authoritative, this book is a thorough analysis of how Putin''s gambit fits into the big picture.''
‘A strongly researched account of the events that led to the tragic Russo-Ukrainian war.’
‘An important, well-referenced book that covers the details and impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.’
''Unpicks Putin''s concocted rationales for invading Ukraine... [and] dissects Russia''s strategic military failings.''
‘The book represents an open-ended chronicle of a very short, but significant, phase in the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation.’
''[A] well-researched tour de force [...] We need more books like this one to make sense of this senseless war.''
''This book will help those who cannot understand why and how a genocidal war of colonial reconquest came to be launched on Europe in the twenty-first century. But it also explains clearly the vital importance of that war for the future of Russia itself and of global security.''
''This valuable study offers a compelling, detailed and well-sustained argument that Putin seeks to subjugate Ukraine through war, as part of a broader illiberal "counter-revolutionary" agenda for control of former Soviet territory.''
''Samuel Ramani''s book on Russia''s invasion of Ukraine will doubtless be followed by many others, but when it comes to meticulous research, balanced assessments, acute insights, and comprehensiveness, this superb volume has set a very high standard.''
Eight years after annexing Crimea, Russia embarked on a full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. For Vladimir Putin, this was a legacy-defining mission—to restore Russia’s sphere of influence and undo Ukraine’s surprisingly resilient democratic experiment. Yet Putin’s aspirations were swiftly eviscerated, as the conflict degenerated into a bloody war of attrition and the Russian economy faced crippling sanctions. How can we make sense of his decision to invade?
This book argues that Putin’s policy of global counter-revolution is driven not by systemic factors, such as preventing NATO expansion, but domestic ones: the desire to unite Russians around common principles and consolidate his personal brand of authoritarianism. This objective has inspired military interventions in Crimea, Donbas and Syria, and now all-out war against Kyiv.Samuel Ramani explores why Putin opted for regime change in Ukraine, rather than a smaller-scale intervention in Donbas, and considers the impact on his own regime’s legitimacy. How has Russia’s long-term political and foreign policy trajectory shifted? And how will the international response reshape the world order?
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
Cambridge University Press
