Christopher A Lawrence

It was a lazy Sunday morning in Russia on 1 June 2025. The war with Ukraine had been going for over three years. That morning 117 Ukrainian drones rose up from the back of four trucks deep inside Russia itself and started flying towards their targets – a number of Russian airbases. They were Ukrainian made Osa (‘Wasp’) quadcopters. They were packed in crates of around twenty-seven drones each and driven across the country in the back of cargo trucks. The unsuspecting Russian truck drivers thought they were delivering materials for pre-fabricated houses. Instead, several of the drivers were asked to pull over at a local gas station or parking lot, and then suddenly the cover of the cargo container came off and more than two dozen drones took off towards a nearby air base. The Russian drivers were taken completely by surprise. The drones then attacked the Russian bombers at four air bases across the vast expanse of Russia, from a base above the arctic circle near Murmansk, to the heart of European Russia, out to the middle of Siberia, near Lake Baikal. Large old Russian strategic bombers, like Tu-95s and Tu-22s came under attack, along with Russia’s valuable Airborne Early Warning and Control Beriat A-50s. Maybe two dozen planes were attacked by the drones on three of the airfields, and it appears that over a dozen were destroyed. This attack stunned Russia, as this was their strategic bomber force. Not only was it being used to regularly strike at Ukrainian infrastructure and cities, but these were the nuclear-capable strategic bombers that were an important part of their Strategic Deterrent Forces. Some Russians, in shock, equated it to a Russian Pearl Harbor. This book explores the full story of a covert attack that has changed the rules of military warfare forever.

On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine, marking the most significant European conflict since World War II. The invasion aimed to capture Kyiv and replace President Zelenskyy with a puppet regime, but the Russians faced fierce Ukrainian resistance, forcing them to retreat and re-direct their efforts to other fronts.The Battle of Kyiv chronicles the Ukrainians’ heroic resilience against a vastly more powerful enemy. Despite Russia’s population and economic superiority, Ukraine’s military, bolstered by NATO and international support, held its ground. The book details the early phase of the war, when Russian forces pushed toward Kyiv, surrounded cities like Chernihiv, seized Kherson, and threatened the Ukrainian state. U.S. intelligence predicted Kyiv’s fall within days and offered to evacuate Zelenskyy. His response: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”The book covers the fighting in Kyiv, Kherson, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Mariupol, documenting military operations, destruction, civilian suffering, and survival struggles. Written as the battle unfolded, it provides an urgent historical account of the uncertainty, anxiety, and global significance of the war, reflecting the pivotal moments in Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion.

On 24 February 2022, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, unleashed an attack on Ukraine that has developed into the most significant war in Europe since the Second World War. The opening phase of this war was when Russian armour, along with mechanized and airmobile troops, advanced on Kyiv, surrounded Chernihiv, seized Kherson twice, and threatened the very existence of the Ukrainian state.The Siege of Mariupol tells the story of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainians in defending the areas in and around the large coastal city of Mariupol. Situated in the Donetsk Oblast, Mariupol was one of the initial objectives of the Russian offensive.By 2 March, Putin’s forces had surrounded the city and a fierce struggle ensued, in which Russian artillery bombarded Mariupol resulting in heavy civilian casualties. Conditions in the city rapidly deteriorated as water and electricity supplies were cut and food shortages became severe. The 700,000 inhabitants faced a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis as the siege continued for week after week. Repeated attempts to evacuate the civilians failed, until 15 March when just 20,000 people were able to escape.Week after week the bitter fighting raged on. Towards the end, however, it was the events at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works that, to the whole world, came to define the dogged and determined Ukrainian defence. The plant became the heart of one of the main remaining pockets of resistance in Mariupol. Fiercely defended, it was described as a ‘fortress within a city’.The siege lasted until 20 May with the Russians finally taking control of the city. This book was written as the conflict ensued, giving it an unparalleled immediacy and poignancy. The Siege of Mariupol is an important historical document depicting the uncertainty and anxiety faced by the contesting forces and by the rest of the world as the war in Ukraine hung in the balance.