Invasion

For months, ominous signs pointed in one scarcely believable direction: Russia was about to invade Ukraine. Despite these warnings, the world was stunned by the epochal scale of the assault that began in February 2022. This was not just a skirmish; it was an audacious attempt by one nation to devour another. The Kremlin harboured ambitions far beyond territorial gains—it sought a new world order. Invasion is Luke Harding's gripping chronicle of the war that changed everything. Reporting on the ground through the initial months of shock and heartbreak, Harding unveils the unheard human stories behind the headlines, providing a vivid and urgent account of the devastation and resilience unfolding in Ukraine. Through his journalistic prowess, Harding presents the stark contrasts between two very different leaders. Ukraine's actor-turned-president Volodymyr Zelenskiy rallied support on a global stage, his charisma and determination capturing the world's attention. In contrast, Vladimir Putin secluded himself, appearing to dwell in a strange and unreachable realm. Harding delves into the ideological, religious, and personal motives driving Putin's strategy for war and confronts a crucial question: what will be the endgame of this unprecedented invasion? Written in Luke Harding's starkly transfixing style, this book offers an urgent, vivid, and powerful account of the largest armed conflict in Europe since 1945. Having previously warned about Putin's dark and adventurist ambitions, Harding's astute analysis of the war's consequences for Kyiv, Moscow, and the world makes for essential reading. Invasion not only captures the immediate human stories of bravery, despair, and a nation's will to survive but also provides a deeper understanding of the geopolitical shifts that have the potential to reshape our world. This is a chronicle of the war that serves as both a testament to devastating realities and a call for informed international response.