A Small, Stubborn Town: Life, death and defiance in Ukraine – ‘The mesmerising story of how in the face of a mighty army, ordinary people can say "No."' Mail on Sunday

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On the morning of Wednesday 2 March 2022, an armoured personnel carrier clattered into her yard, knocking over her favourite pear tree.

Lindsey HIlsum (Channel Four News): “This gripping account is the Russian invasion of Ukraine in microcosm. This is an improbable but true story of incredible courage, heartbreaking loss (Voznesensk's defence wasn't a bloodless one) and sheer bloody-mindedness.Anyway, if you are a fan of underdog narratives and want a portrait of a small provincial town in the south of Ukraine taking a valiant, against-all-odds stand against the Russian army in the early days of the full-scale invasion, this is the book for you. Mail on Sunday: “A mesmerising story of how in the face of a might army, ordinary people can sometimes turn and simply say, ‘No. A Small, Stubborn Town : Life, death and defiance in Ukraine – ‘The mesmerising story of how in the face of a mighty army, ordinary people can say "No.

This short book gives helpful insights to a war that can feel a little abstract for those of us on the other side of the globe! I'm the author of "These Are Not Gentle People," a true-crime novel set in South Africa and published in South Africa, the UK and the Netherlands.Earlier this month, its troops blew up the Kakhovka dam, flooding settlements and towns on either side of the Dnipro River. Harding’s fine book points to why Ukraine has outperformed expectations in Washington and London, continues to fight on, and may just win this 21st-century David v Goliath struggle. Eventually the Russians pulled out, abandoning many armoured vehicles, “supplies spilling out of them like the guts of gored animals”. If the advancing Russian army crosses the bridge in their town fast, it might then cut off the main route from Kyiv to Odesa, which Won't Be Good (an understatement). But also, people sinking low, pulled into the grey zone of the past Soviet and current Russian occupation.

A bunch of pot-bellied, tracksuit-wearing, down-on-their-luck guys, aka territorial defense volunteers in the full-scale war, stand over a makeshift trench at the outskirts of their tiny town. Looking at different perspectives, we see how grandmas, young alcoholics, Russian soldiers, and Ukrainian defenders all respond.When Russian troops approached the small farming town of Voznesensk, they were not expecting a battle.

Their weapons were a box of grenades, AK-47s and NLAW anti-armour missiles, supplied by the British. Philippe Sands'We are touched by the courage and dignity of Andrew Harding's characters - qualities that the author must surely possess in equal measure. Each street-level detail illuminates a bigger truth: why Ukraine succeeded in resisting Russia’s shock and awe onslaught last year, and how Moscow’s brazen attempt to subjugate an independent nation failed. This short punchy account of a few days in the now interminable invasion by Putin of Ukraine is fascinating on many levels. Superb writing and poetic storytelling sheds light on the heroic spirit and immense bravery of ordinary people determined to defend their homeland.A brilliant insight into the early days of the war in Ukraine through the story of one incredible town. Fiona Hill (Russia expert and author of “There Is Nothing For You Here): “Fascinating, vivid, often harrowing, and also deeply moving. Andrey Kurkov (Ukrainian author of “Grey Bees”): It would be wonderful if the story told in this beautiful little book were the author's invention. It was praised by the New York Times, The Economist, The Washington Post and chosen as one of NPR's books of 2016. The Russians believed the “propaganda” and “lies” they had been fed: that their Ukrainian “Slav brothers” wanted to be “liberated from fascism”.