David and Goliath: Commentaries on the Russo-Ukrainian War

The biblical image of David and Goliath captures fittingly the nature of the war that Russia, the worlds largest country by surface area, unleashed on neighboring Ukraine, a country thatwhile still the largest on the European continentis almost thirty times smaller and has only over a quarter of Russias population. Yet Ukraines stubborn resistance proves that it is possible to mount a successful defense against an enormously larger, more populous, and better equipped enemy, even despite its threats of nuclear apocalypse should Ukraine refuse to submit and the West dare to interfere. This volume shows that history can help reveal the reasons for Ukraines resolve and success on the battlefield and in the public arena. Collected in David and Goliath for the first time are short essays, commentaries, and interviews written and given by Serhii Plokhy, the worlds preeminent scholar of Ukrainian history, on the eve and during the first two years of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Plokhy draws our attention to the unique nature of the truly historic events of the largest war in Europe since the end of World War II.