War in Ukraine
Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict
2nd Edition
Published on 11. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
264 pages
978-1-68219-614-4 (ISBN)
Description
In this new edition of their bestselling book, Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies bring their account of the war in Ukraine up-to-date, to try and answer burning questions about how and why the conflict still rages on after three years of carnage, and who and what stand in the way of a stable and lasting peace. They examine the claims and counter-claims around the stalemate on the battlefield, the continuing expansion of NATO with the addition of Finland and Sweden, and contradictions in US and NATO policy as the war drags on.
They also examine the divisions among U.S. progressives that hindered the emergence of a strong anti-war movement and abandoned the anti-war position in Congress to the extreme right.
The authors describe Russia's February 2022 invasion as a tragic and indefensible crime. However, they insist that Western government and media circles' presentation of the conflict as a simple dichotomy between an evil empire and an innocent victim is a distortion of a more complicated chain of events.
The West's reneging on promises not to expand NATO in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union revived Cold War tensions. The violent overthrow of Ukraine's elected government in 2014 caused the disintegration of the country, and its failure to implement the Minsk peace agreement led to an escalating conflict that the world has so far failed to resolve, one that could conceivably end in all-out war between the United States and Russia-the world's two leading nuclear-armed powers.
Skillfully bringing together the historical record and current analysis, War in Ukraine looks at the events leading up to the conflict, surveys the different parties involved, and weighs the risks of escalation and opportunities for peace. For anyone who wants to get beneath the heavily propagandized media coverage to an understanding of a war with consequences that could prove cataclysmic, this widely acclaimed book will prove invaluable.
They also examine the divisions among U.S. progressives that hindered the emergence of a strong anti-war movement and abandoned the anti-war position in Congress to the extreme right.
The authors describe Russia's February 2022 invasion as a tragic and indefensible crime. However, they insist that Western government and media circles' presentation of the conflict as a simple dichotomy between an evil empire and an innocent victim is a distortion of a more complicated chain of events.
The West's reneging on promises not to expand NATO in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union revived Cold War tensions. The violent overthrow of Ukraine's elected government in 2014 caused the disintegration of the country, and its failure to implement the Minsk peace agreement led to an escalating conflict that the world has so far failed to resolve, one that could conceivably end in all-out war between the United States and Russia-the world's two leading nuclear-armed powers.
Skillfully bringing together the historical record and current analysis, War in Ukraine looks at the events leading up to the conflict, surveys the different parties involved, and weighs the risks of escalation and opportunities for peace. For anyone who wants to get beneath the heavily propagandized media coverage to an understanding of a war with consequences that could prove cataclysmic, this widely acclaimed book will prove invaluable.
Reviews / Votes
"This careful, informed, judicious study is an invaluable guide to understanding the background, character, and likely consequences of Russia's criminal invasion of Ukraine, and most crucially, how we can act to help bring this terrible tragedy to an end."-Noam Chomsky
"This book is an important antidote to the war propaganda about Ukraine that so many in the West are caught up in."
-Mairead McGuire, Northern Irish peace activist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
"Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies lay out the historical background and series of provocations by the US that led Russia to launch its war on Ukraine. These provocations do not excuse the Russian invasion, but they tragically make clear that this was a conflict that could have been avoided if our foreign policy had not become captive to militarists whose sole loyalty is to the arms industry."
-Chris Hedges, journalist and author
"Here, finally, is the book we've been awaiting. War in Ukraine is illuminating and essential for anyone seeking to penetrate the fog of myth and propaganda that distorts our understanding of this crisis."
-Stephen Kinzer, author and journalist
"Given corporate media's pro-war bias, a book like this, which provides important political and historical context for the current war and argues for negotiations instead of escalation, is of utmost importance."
-Katie Halper, host of The Katie Halper Show and co-host of Useful Idiots
"Give this book to anyone seeking the knowledge and wisdom needed to help end the violence in Ukraine."
-David Swanson, executive director of World Beyond War and campaign coordinator for Roots Action
"This concise primer gives what U.S. media consumers so rarely get-historical context with balance and compassion."
-Norman Solomon, executive director of Institute for Public Accuracy
"Should be mandatory reading in all strategic and political studies courses in universities around the world."
- Jonathan Ferraby, Head of Mission Support for the OSCE SMMU, 2014-2015
"War in Ukraine is very readable, and it is informative. It is a great primer."
-Dissident Voice
More details
Edition
2nd New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 189 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
252 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68219-614-4 (9781682196144)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Medea Benjamin is a co-founder of CODEPINK and the fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange. She is the author of Drone Warfare, Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection and Inside Iran. In 2012, she was awarded the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation's Peace Prize; she is also recipient of the 2014 Gandhi Peace Award and the 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize from the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Nicolas J.S. Davies is the author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq. He has written extensively for Huffington Post, Alternet, Consortium News, Common Dreams, Salon, The Progressive, and Foreign Policy In Focus.
Nicolas J.S. Davies is the author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq. He has written extensively for Huffington Post, Alternet, Consortium News, Common Dreams, Salon, The Progressive, and Foreign Policy In Focus.