This careful, informed, judicious study is an invaluable guide
to understanding Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine, and
most crucially, how we can act to help bring this terrible tragedy to an end. — Noam Chomsky

This book is an important antidote to the war propaganda
about Ukraine that so many in the West are caught up in. — Mairead McGuire

War in Ukraine makes tragically clear that this was a conflict
that could have been avoided if our foreign policy had not
become captive to militarists whose sole loyalty is to the arms
industry. — Chris Hedges

War in Ukraine is illuminating and essential for anyone seeking to penetrate the fog of myth and propaganda that distorts
our understanding of this crisis. — Stephen Kinzer

Given corporate media’s pro-war bias, a book like this, which provides important political and historical context and argues for negotiations instead of escalation, is of utmost importance. — Katie Halper, host of The Katie Halper Show and Useful Idiots

Give this book to anyone seeking the knowledge and wisdom needed to help end the violence in Ukraine. — David Swanson, executive director of World Beyond War

This concise primer gives what U.S. media consumers so rarely get—historical context with balance and compassion. — Norman Solomon, executive director of Institute for Public Accuracy

Preface by Katrina Vanden Heuvel

Russia’s brutal February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has attracted
widespread condemnation across the West. Government and media
circles present the conflict as a simple dichotomy between an evil
empire and an innocent victim. In this concise, accessible and highly
informative primer, Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies insist the
picture is more complicated.

Yes, Russia’s aggression was reckless and, ultimately, indefensible.
But the West’s reneging on promises to halt eastward expansion
of NATO in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union played a
major part in prompting Putin to act. So did the U.S. involvement
in the 2014 Ukraine coup and Ukraine’s failure to implement the
Minsk peace agreements. The result is a conflict that is increasingly
difficult to resolve, one that could conceivably escalate into all-out
war between the United States and Russia—the world’s two leading
nuclear powers.

Skilfully bringing together the historical record and current analysis,
War in Ukraine looks at the events leading up to the conflict, surveys
the different parties involved, and weighs the risks of escalation and
opportunities for peace. For anyone who wants to get beneath the
heavily propagandized media coverage to an understanding of a war
with consequences that could prove cataclysmic, reading this timely
book will be an urgent necessity