Russian atrocities stymied peace negotiations
LAWRENCE FREEDMAN
THE SHOWMAN
The inside story of the invasion that shook the world and made a leader of Volodymyr Zelensky
SIMON SHUSTER
384pp. William Collins. £22.
OUR ENEMIES WILL VANISH
The Russian invasion and Ukraine’s war of independence
YAROSLAV TROFIMOV
400pp. Michael Joseph. £25.
THE BATTLE FOR KYIV began on February 24, 2022, and ended a month later when the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that its forces would withdraw from Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy provinces to concentrate on Donbas, the contested region of eastern Ukraine that had provided Vladimir Putin with a pretext for the full-scale invasion. The move was described as a “goodwill gesture” to move peace talks along. Few took that seriously. The Russians were leaving because they had lost this battle, and now, many hoped, they would lose the war. Alas, the war is not over. Two years on, and almost ten since the annexation of Crimea, the concluding chapters of this story have yet to be written.
Ukraine created the conditions for a longer war by thwarting Putin’s aim to install a puppet government in Kyiv in a matter of days. Western governments, initially resigned to a quick Russian victory, decided to sustain Ukraine’s resistance by providing it with arms and ammunition, and ramping up economic sanctions. The effect was to burst the myth of Russian invincibility and give Nato a unifying sense of purpose. Once the West had made the commitment it dared not let Ukraine fail, lest Putin be encouraged to continue his military adventures – a point still understood in Europe, though less so in the US Congress where, at Donald Trump’s urging, the next aid package has been held up.
It was Volodymyr Zelensky who came to symbolize Ukraine’s resistance. He remained defiant in Kyiv as the capital was bombarded and Russian troops advanced. Avoiding Russian agents sent to kill him, he rallied the nation and pressed for international support. Almost overnight this potentially tragic figure became a modern hero.
Witnessing the transformation was Simon Shuster of Time magazine, who had already been writing Zelensky’s biography, so was in the perfect position to capture the drama of the moment as it became apparent that US warnings of an imminent attack were right, and the assault was coming in from all directions. The Showman: The inside story of the invasion that shook the world and made a leader of Volodymyr Zelensky offers a gripping, blow-by-blow account of Zelensky determining that he will not evacuate to a safer place, ensuring that his wife and children do so, changing his suit for fatigues, stepping out of his bunker on the second day to show the nation that he is in c
