Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine
In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a bloody escalation of a conflict that had begun eight years earlier. What drove Vladimir Putin to launch Europe’s largest land war since World War II?

Lucian Kim—an on—the—ground reporter in the region for decades—offers a gripping, definitive account of Russia’s path to war, from Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2014 Maidan uprising right up to the full—scale invasion. He examines the Kremlin’s motives, tracing Putin’s transformation from a seemingly pragmatic leader into an embittered tyrant who saw it as his historical mission to reconquer Ukraine. Kim places the war in the broader context of the Soviet Union’s collapse, arguing that it represents a clash between those who reject the Soviet past—like Volodymyr Zelensky and Alexei Navalny—and those who still identify with it. He debunks the Kremlin narrative that the West instigated the conflict, and he instead identifies the root causes of the war in the legacy of Russian imperialism and Putin’s dictatorial rule. At the same time, Kim is critical of the West’s empty promises to Ukraine, which made the country vulnerable to a revanchist Russia.

Putin’s Revenge features insight from Kim’s first—hand reporting on key moments, such as Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the beginning of the Russian—backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine. This book tells the story of the lead—up to the invasion with revelatory detail and fresh analysis, shedding new light on a conflict that has roiled the post–Cold War order.
1145639974
Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine
In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a bloody escalation of a conflict that had begun eight years earlier. What drove Vladimir Putin to launch Europe’s largest land war since World War II?

Lucian Kim—an on—the—ground reporter in the region for decades—offers a gripping, definitive account of Russia’s path to war, from Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2014 Maidan uprising right up to the full—scale invasion. He examines the Kremlin’s motives, tracing Putin’s transformation from a seemingly pragmatic leader into an embittered tyrant who saw it as his historical mission to reconquer Ukraine. Kim places the war in the broader context of the Soviet Union’s collapse, arguing that it represents a clash between those who reject the Soviet past—like Volodymyr Zelensky and Alexei Navalny—and those who still identify with it. He debunks the Kremlin narrative that the West instigated the conflict, and he instead identifies the root causes of the war in the legacy of Russian imperialism and Putin’s dictatorial rule. At the same time, Kim is critical of the West’s empty promises to Ukraine, which made the country vulnerable to a revanchist Russia.

Putin’s Revenge features insight from Kim’s first—hand reporting on key moments, such as Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the beginning of the Russian—backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine. This book tells the story of the lead—up to the invasion with revelatory detail and fresh analysis, shedding new light on a conflict that has roiled the post–Cold War order.
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Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine

Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine

Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine

Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine

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Overview

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a bloody escalation of a conflict that had begun eight years earlier. What drove Vladimir Putin to launch Europe’s largest land war since World War II?

Lucian Kim—an on—the—ground reporter in the region for decades—offers a gripping, definitive account of Russia’s path to war, from Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2014 Maidan uprising right up to the full—scale invasion. He examines the Kremlin’s motives, tracing Putin’s transformation from a seemingly pragmatic leader into an embittered tyrant who saw it as his historical mission to reconquer Ukraine. Kim places the war in the broader context of the Soviet Union’s collapse, arguing that it represents a clash between those who reject the Soviet past—like Volodymyr Zelensky and Alexei Navalny—and those who still identify with it. He debunks the Kremlin narrative that the West instigated the conflict, and he instead identifies the root causes of the war in the legacy of Russian imperialism and Putin’s dictatorial rule. At the same time, Kim is critical of the West’s empty promises to Ukraine, which made the country vulnerable to a revanchist Russia.

Putin’s Revenge features insight from Kim’s first—hand reporting on key moments, such as Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the beginning of the Russian—backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine. This book tells the story of the lead—up to the invasion with revelatory detail and fresh analysis, shedding new light on a conflict that has roiled the post–Cold War order.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798228447721
Publisher: Tantor
Publication date: 05/06/2025
Product dimensions: 5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Lucian Kim has reported on Ukraine and Russia since Vladimir Putin's first term in office. Based in Moscow and Berlin for more than twenty years, he covered central and eastern Europe as a correspondent for National Public Radio, Bloomberg News, and the Christian Science Monitor. He was the recipient of a Wilson Center Fellowship in Washington, DC, where he began writing his book Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine.

David Lee Huynh is an actor based in New York City. He has appeared onstage Off-Broadway and across the country as well as on film and television.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Note on Spellings
Cast of Characters
Maps
Introduction
1. Putin in Kyiv
2. Warning Shots
3. Moscow Uprising
4. Massacre on the Maidan
5. The Gifts of the Magi
6. Zombie Revolution
7. Yankee, Come Back!
8. Make Russia Great Again
9. The Education of Volodymyr Zelensky
10. Grandpa in the Bunker
11. Killer in the Kremlin
Notes
Index
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