In March 2022, one week after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, a small farming town in the south of the country became the unlikely focus of the Kremlin’s attention. After the shootout, Voznesensk’s funeral director drove his van around the surrounding hills and woods, picking up the bodies of Russians and stuffing them into transparent bags. Looking at different perspectives, we see how grandmas, young alcoholics, Russian soldiers, and Ukrainian defenders all respond. This short book gives helpful insights to a war that can feel a little abstract for those of us on the other side of the globe! A short but brilliant book, Harding tells the story of Voznesensk, the small, southern Ukrainian farm that fought off the Russian Army's invasion in March 2022, facing down unbelievable odds, and winning.

Svetlana, a grandmother with arthritis, reacts in fury when Russian troops turn her cottage into their blood-soaked headquarters.

Harding’s fine book points to why Ukraine has outperformed expectations in Washington and London, continues to fight on, and may just win this 21st-century David v Goliath struggle. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Sergei grabs a Molotov cocktail and lies in wait for Russian tanks as they push towards Dead Water Bridge. Arkady Ostrovsky (Journalist and podcaster - “Next Year in Moscow): “A captivating tale of one Ukrainian town, a microcosm of war and a heartening story of people’s defiance, ingenuity and spirit. Eventually the Russians pulled out, abandoning many armoured vehicles, “supplies spilling out of them like the guts of gored animals”. If Russian troops could capture Voznesensk, and its small, strategic bridge, then they might be able to seize the whole Black Sea Coast and end the war in days.

Their weapons were a box of grenades, AK-47s and NLAW anti-armour missiles, supplied by the British. Superb writing and poetic storytelling sheds light on the heroic spirit and immense bravery of ordinary people determined to defend their homeland.Earlier this month, its troops blew up the Kakhovka dam, flooding settlements and towns on either side of the Dnipro River. A gripping work of reportage that tells the story of a pivotal moment in Ukraine's war, this is a real-life thriller about ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with resilience, humour and ingenuity. In a poignant scene, a Ukrainian mother, Anna, collected what was left of her 21-year-old son Serhii, torn apart by a tank shell.

One of them shouted to the Ukrainian volunteers sitting in it and out of ammunition: “Guys, we’re with you. Anyway, if you are a fan of underdog narratives and want a portrait of a small provincial town in the south of Ukraine taking a valiant, against-all-odds stand against the Russian army in the early days of the full-scale invasion, this is the book for you. Reporter Andrew Harding tells the story of the small Ukrainian town Voznesensk during the initial stages of the Russian invasion in March 2022. But also, people sinking low, pulled into the grey zone of the past Soviet and current Russian occupation. A bunch of pot-bellied, tracksuit-wearing, down-on-their-luck guys, aka territorial defense volunteers in the full-scale war, stand over a makeshift trench at the outskirts of their tiny town.

Each street-level detail illuminates a bigger truth: why Ukraine succeeded in resisting Russia’s shock and awe onslaught last year, and how Moscow’s brazen attempt to subjugate an independent nation failed. The dignity of very ordinary people looking around, shrugging, saying essentially "well, I guess that'll have to be me" and making a stand. Very sad and terrifying at times - it doesn't hold too many punches when it comes to the realities of war. Philippe Sands'We are touched by the courage and dignity of Andrew Harding's characters - qualities that the author must surely possess in equal measure. This is an improbable but true story of incredible courage, heartbreaking loss (Voznesensk's defence wasn't a bloodless one) and sheer bloody-mindedness.