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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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.

The dignity of very ordinary people looking around, shrugging, saying essentially "well, I guess that'll have to be me" and making a stand. One day soon when the war is over, I look forward to watching the movie based on the events depicted in this book! Valentin, a quick-talking lawyer, joins the town's 'Dads Army' defenders, crouching in a trench with an AK47.Svetlana, a grandmother with arthritis, reacts in fury when Russian troops turn her cottage into their blood-soaked headquarters. This short punchy account of a few days in the now interminable invasion by Putin of Ukraine is fascinating on many levels. One of them shouted to the Ukrainian volunteers sitting in it and out of ammunition: “Guys, we’re with you. But a plan is emerging, and there's a chance it could save not just Voznesensk, but the rest of southern Ukraine.

In a poignant scene, a Ukrainian mother, Anna, collected what was left of her 21-year-old son Serhii, torn apart by a tank shell. Lindsey HIlsum (Channel Four News): “This gripping account is the Russian invasion of Ukraine in microcosm. Its people are indomitable and unyielding, brave and determined, savvy and funny when the chips are down.A short but brilliant book, Harding tells the story of Voznesensk, the small, southern Ukrainian farm that fought off the Russian Army's invasion in March 2022, facing down unbelievable odds, and winning. 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. Luke Harding in The Observer: “This gripping story is the literary equivalent of a superb miniature painting. The Russians believed the “propaganda” and “lies” they had been fed: that their Ukrainian “Slav brothers” wanted to be “liberated from fascism”.

Fiona Hill (Russia expert and author of “There Is Nothing For You Here): “Fascinating, vivid, often harrowing, and also deeply moving. James Meek (author and journalist): “Harding’s terse, piercing book is a gripping description of a turning point in Russia’s assault on Ukraine, a story of extraordinary heroism by ordinary people in a small town, and an accessible, limpid account of what battle is actually like in this war, in all its tragic, absurd detail.

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). 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.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Sergei grabs a Molotov cocktail and lies in wait for Russian tanks as they push towards Dead Water Bridge.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. Very sad and terrifying at times - it doesn't hold too many punches when it comes to the realities of war. Earlier this month, its troops blew up the Kakhovka dam, flooding settlements and towns on either side of the Dnipro River. Reporter Andrew Harding tells the story of the small Ukrainian town Voznesensk during the initial stages of the Russian invasion in March 2022.