Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yaroslav Trofimov has spent months on end at the heart of the conflict, very often under fire on its front lines. In this authoritative account, he traces the war’s decisive moments—from the battle for Kyiv to the grueling combat with the Wagner group over Bakhmut, and, most recently, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s dramatic mutiny against Vladimir Putin in June 2023. He shows how Ukraine, with American help, turned the tide against Russia, one of the world’s great military powers, in a modern-day battle of David and Goliath. Putin had intended to conquer and annex Ukraine with a vicious blitzkrieg, redrawing the map of Europe in a few short weeks with seismic geopolitical consequences. But the Ukrainian people fought back, turning what looked like certain defeat into a victory that confirmed their nation’s independence, even as the fight over the nation’s exact borders continues to seesaw to this day. This is the story of the epic bravery of the Ukrainian people, told by one of the world’s most acclaimed war correspondents.

For Trofimov, this war is deeply personal. He grew up in Kyiv and his family has lived there for generations. With deep empathy and local understanding of the nuances of language and culture, Trofimov tells the story of how everyday Ukrainian citizens—doctors, computer programmers, businesspeople, and schoolteachers—risked their lives and lost loved ones. He blends their courageous and tragic stories with expert military analysis, providing unique insight into the thinking of the Ukrainian leadership and mapping out the decisive stages of Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II―a confrontation that has reshaped the world.

This brutal, catastrophic struggle is unfolding on another continent, but the United States and its NATO allies have become deeply implicated. As the war drags on, it threatens to engulf the world. We cannot look away. At once heartbreaking and inspiring, Our Enemies Will Vanish is a riveting and vivid firsthand account of the Ukrainian refusal to surrender. It is the story of ordinary people fighting not just for their homes and their families but for justice and democracy itself.