THE UNPROVOKED WAR

An overview of the causes and (until mid-2022) course of the 21st-century’s largest European war to date.

Having only two maps—and those political rather than military—and little to no specific information about either side’s forces, arms, tactics, or strategy, this work is stronger on broader historical context than details of actual battles or other recent events. Still, the author does a creditable job of distilling limited source material into a coherent narrative. Following an introduction and timeline showing events from February through July 2022, he traces the origins of Russia and Ukraine from their ninth-century origins on, pointing in particular to the latter’s large Russian-speaking minority as an ongoing cause of conflict and to Putin’s consistent opposition to Ukraine’s joining NATO as a more immediate one. He casts the invasion as a David and Goliath scenario in which tenacious Ukrainian troops and militia, led by their unexpectedly courageous president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have held their own against the huge but ineffective armies of a blustering strongman and won victories on land and sea despite massacres and other war crimes. After general remarks on sanctions and other international reactions to the invasion, Blohm leaves off, as he must, with the two sides at a stalemate.

Events have already passed this by, but it may be useful for assigned reports or general background.