A clear-eyed account of Ukraine under siege
Do not underestimate the lunacy of aged dictators, a new book argues
Illia Ponomarenko moved to Kyiv in 2016 with a backpack and $100 in his pocket. He typified the can-do spirit of the post-Soviet generation: when a tycoon-proprietor tried to muzzle critical reporting at the Kyiv Post, the newspaper where Mr Ponomarenko worked, he and the entire writing staff quit. They then founded a feistier paper, the Kyiv Independent. Since the war began, it has been an essential source of news about Ukraine.
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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Putin’s delusions, Ukraine’s pain”
From the June 29th 2024 edition
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