Putin vs. Zelensky The Russo-Ukrainian war: why it's happening and how it all got started

Thompson (The Age of Exploration) meticulously probes the centuries-long history between the Russian and Ukrainian governments and its impact on the countries' present-day citizens in this thorough accounting. The latest escalation in the Russo-Ukrainian war "began with a thirty-two-second selfie video that changed history forever," the author explains in a prologue, employing lively, casual text. The video--showing Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky addressing rumors that he'd fled following Russia's invasion--"inspired the citizens of his country to stand up to the invaders and battle for their freedom." Subsequent chapters, divided into four parts, examine Russia and Ukraine's respective political landscapes from the early 20th century and onward, including the fall of the Russian Empire and Ukraine's vying for statehood. Each historical benchmark is contextualized via the intertwining backstories of Zelensky, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and the figures' ancestors. A recurring motif--the Russian proverb "I fled from a wolf, but ran into a bear"--offers cultural insight into the countries' perspectives on life, politics, and freedom across a dense volume, best suited for history aficionados, that impressively highlights the cascading events leading to today's conflict. Ages 8--12. (Aug.)

History writer Thompson's valuable primer delves into the intertwined histories of Russia and Ukraine leading up to the current war. On February 24, 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, an ex-KGB agent. By the next day, missile strikes were reported throughout Ukraine as troops clambered to defensive positions and residents fled to safety. On the other side of the conflict was actor-turned-politician Volodymyr Zelensky, who assured his countryfolk that "We are all defending our independence." This book begins in the early 20th century with the lead-up to the fall of the Russian Empire, as contextualized through the Putin and Zelensky families' experiences. Thompson helps readers understand the roots of the present conflict by showing how Russia emphasizes the countries' shared pasts while Ukraine battles for its unique cultural and linguistic identity. This well-researched book is full of interesting information, such as the fact that both Zelensky and Putin have law degrees but neither practiced law because they "both hated it." The writing is mostly conversational (former Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko "made it so that you could buy a loaf of bread and a carton of milk at the grocery store without having to auction off a vital organ to pay for it") but may still be too dense to capture readers' attention. Occasional photos interrupt the otherwise text-heavy pages, which would have benefited from being broken up by design elements. A highly detailed account for history buffs. (timeline, bibliography, index)(Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.