Drawing on Mark Galeotti’s unrivalled sources in the Russian and Ukrainian militaries, this studies Russia’s risky move to seize Kyiv at the start of the 2022 invasion, and how it was foiled.

In 2022, Vladimir Putin was convinced he could seize Kyiv with minimal fighting, install a puppet government, and close his fist on Ukraine in a matter of weeks. As the war he launched continues to rage, Dr Mark Galeotti, a world expert on the Russian military, explains how this lightning conquest was meant to be won – and how the Ukrainians crushed it.

He explains how the Russian Army’s generals, under-prepared and kept in the dark, nonetheless made a concerted attempt to seize Hostomel Airport and from there take the capital, with mercenaries detailed to hunt down the government. But Ukrainian military and civilian resistance thwarted the attack and within a month, the Russians were already on the retreat, leaving behind the smoking remains of the 40-mile invasion column outside Kyiv.

Drawing extensively on Russian and Ukrainian sources including interviews with soldiers involved in the operation, and fully illustrated with photographs, original artwork and maps, this is the most detailed and compelling study of this operation available in English. It is the story of a plan that could have been among military history’s boldest coups-de-main, but whose defeat instead shattered Russia’s hopes of an easy victory.