Volodymyr Zelensky and his generals explain why the war hangs in the balance
Our interviews with the men shaping Ukraine’s response to Russia’s aggression
TWO BOOKS stand out in the stacks resting on the desk of Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president. One is a collection of essays on Ukrainian history by Mykhailo Hrushevsky, a 19th-century thinker who helped forge the country’s national identity. The second is “Hitler and Stalin: the Tyrants and the Second World War”, by Laurence Rees, an English historian. The books hint not only at the president’s outlook, but also his changed circumstances.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “A fateful winter”
From the December 17th 2022 edition
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