CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE FINANCIAL TIMES TELEGRAPH PROSPECTThe best account of the ongoing conflict its preconditions and its presentday horrors Prospect Do you know what is at stake in Ukraine Urgent compelling reading from the author of Chernobyl on the defining conflict of our timesOn 24 February 2022 Russia stunned the world by launching an invasion of Ukraine. In the midst of checking on the family and friends who were now on the front lines of Europes largest conflict since the outbreak of the Second World War acclaimed UkrainianAmerican historian Serhii Plokhy inevitably found himself attempting to understand the deeper causes of the invasion analysing its course and contemplating the wider outcomes.The RussoUkrainian War is the comprehensive history of a war that has burned since 2014 and that with Russias attempt to seize Kyiv exploded a geopolitical order that had been cemented since the end of the Cold War. With an eye for the gripping detail on the ground both in the halls of power and down in the trenches as well as a keen sense of the grander sweep of history Plokhy traces the origins and the evolution of the conflict from the collapse of the Russian empire to the rise and fall of the USSR and on to the development in Ukraine of a democratic politics.Based on decades of research and his unique insight into the region he argues that Ukraines defiance of Russia and the Wests demonstration of unity and strength has presented a profound challenge to Putins Great Power ambition and further polarized the world along a new axis. A riveting enlightening account this is presentminded history at its best.BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER 2023 FINANCIAL TIMES THE TIMES SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE TLS