Since 1991, Ukraine has experienced periods of hopefulness and even triumph, but it has also had to endure trials and troubles well beyond what anyone could have imagined when the Soviet Union suddenly collapsed and an independent country was born. No ordeal, of course, is greater than the current one: Russia鈥檚 invasion in February 2022 began a war that rages on and that threatens, with each passing day, to engulf Europe, and the U.S., in a geopolitical contest for supremacy鈥攅ven as the Ukrainians themselves fight bravely to preserve their territory and sovereignty.
In 鈥淏attleground Ukraine,鈥� Adrian Karatnycky seeks to trace Ukraine鈥檚 evolution as a 鈥減olitical nation鈥� in the post-Soviet era. The result is a fascinating and highly informative narrative that will help all of us understand what is going on in Ukraine right now and what is at stake鈥攁nd also how Ukraine reached this critical point in its history. Mr. Karatnycky, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, has been studying Ukraine for decades and is especially well placed to tell its story and offer a convincing analysis of the fateful turns in Ukraine鈥檚 past as well as a picture of its possible future.