Experts on the book

“Together with the entire civilized world, we must create all the conditions to ensure that Russia has no desire, chances, or opportunities to continue this war or start a new one in the future.”

“This book is a titanic work and a harsh but timely reminder that impunity in security matters costs too much.”

“I don’t know how this war will end, or if it will ever end, but thanks to this book, I know how it started. In the east, it started from Luhansk Airport.”

“This is a very powerful book.”

“Before you is a diary, which, in its spontaneity and authenticity, compels you to return to it time and again, reading into each of those hot days of summer 2014. Reading into the stories of its heroes, who are all different: in age, profession, social, and economic status. Individual companies, battalions, and platoons pulled from various units and welded together by a common task – they are all humans, first and foremost. Soldiers, sergeants, and officers. Brave and less so, daredevils and prudent ones, strategists and tacticians. They are 21st-century Ukrainians. They are like us…”

“…Before contemplating our future, it is crucial to learn all the lessons of the current Russo–Ukrainian War, including its causes, Russia’s preparation for it, its start and development, and Ukraine’s actions in organizing military resistance to the aggression. For this, the primary information about this war – participants’ and eyewitnesses’ memories and observations, in-depth interviews, etc. – is very important.

This book about the defense of Luhansk Airport will, I am confident, take a prominent place among sources of uniquely important information from which historians will study the Russo–Ukrainian War of the early 21st century.”

Andrea C. Hunter, editor of the English-language edition, about working on the translation and the importance of the project

“Voices echo the theme of the 20th and 21st century: “Never, never… Never Again!” Many also repeat the well-worn words “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” … If we do not see, listen to, and learn from history – like the history depicted on these pages – we may one day find a “Ring of Fire” surrounding our own doorsteps.”

“This book is far more than a battlefield chronicle. It is a strategic testimony to the transformation of Ukrainian society under existential threat. … This book is a powerful element of strategic memory and should be read by anyone who wants to understand how a nation that was considered weak began to write new rules of war in the 21st century.”

“…The book about the defense of Luhansk Airport is not just the story of one battle. It is a part of the great struggle for democratic values, for security in the international arena, for the opportunity to live in a world without aggression and destabilization, so it is a valuable source of determination for all those who believe in the power of truth, justice and decent relations between states.”

“This story had to be told in Ukrainian to Ukrainians. This story had to be told in English to whomever is capable of reading and understanding in English. And if you know any other languages, please tell the gist of this story to all those who are fluent in those languages, so that the tragic parts of this story are shared worldwide… and are not repeated in other nations.”

 “In today’s life, in the pursuit of wealth, the world has forgotten the basic truths of honor and humanity. Therefore, I would like to remind everyone reading these lines: being a human is of much higher value than being rich or poor. And if you are a human, you are on the Ukrainian side, on the side of light.”