I Will Show You How It Was is a personal Ukrainian perspective on the realities of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, vital for understanding the nature of this war of aggression and the motivation of Ukrainians.

Behind geopolitical commentary of wars, there are always life stories of people. These are important to understand, particularly as the cumulative effect of decisions and actions of individuals can often redefine the course of war. Ukrainians proved it in 2022 when they defeated what many considered “the world’s second strongest army” in the north of Ukraine and forced the Russian invaders to flee. The Kremlin called its retreat a “goodwill gesture,” but in reality, it suffered tremendous losses and, withdrawing, left nothing good but an unforgivable bloody trace of evil deeds. 

I Will Show You How It Was is a first-hand story from the metropolitan area of the capital city of Ukraine, focusing on the civic realities on the streets, along with diplomatic and military efforts, compressed into a few months immediately preceding and following the start of the full-scale invasion on the 24th of February, 2022. The author, Illia Ponomarenko, is a Ukrainian journalist born in Donbas in the 1990s who moved to Kyiv not long after Mariupol—the city on the Azov Sea’s shores where he studied as a student—was was temporarily occupied by Russian forces for the first time in 2014.  

Ponomarenko starts by describing international events preceding the full-scale invasion—Russia’s military build-up at the borders with Ukraine since March 2021, its increasingly aggressive rhetoric, unreasonable demands on Ukraine’s foreign and defence policies, and an ultimatum regarding it’s NATO decision. He explains how media coverage and public state-level warnings about the upcoming Russian invasion affected the mood and emotional composure of common Kyivans, as well as the reaction of the government, and particularly Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s prolonged public denial of a threat. The author discusses diplomatic efforts taken to prevent the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war, which had been dragging on since 2014, calling out international actors who bet on appeasing Vladimir Putin’s aggressive regionalism. Ponomarenko is comprehensive about the kinds of arms and volumes delivered by willing partners, and those desirable but missing.  

In the book’s first half, the author vividly presents the atmosphere of pre-war Kyiv. Ponomarenko underscores citizens’ calmness, who tended to live usual lives even under the looming threat of war. On the other hand, he celebrates a strong embedded feeling of patriotism and infectious grass-root realisation of duty when thousands of folks of various occupations from across the country, started voluntarily enlisting into newly formed government Territorial Defence Forces, and undertaking training in armed defence and first aid to be ready if the war comes.  

He describes Kyiv as a city full of life, love, hope, creativity, entrepreneurship, natural and architectural beauty, and centuries-long history—in short, a must-visit destination for foreign tourists. Until the very morning of the invasion, most Ukrainians refused to believe a war was inevitable, despite the more than 170,000-strong army at its borders, formal recognition of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic by Putin, staged provocations, and finally Russian mobilisation. Just the day before, Ponomarenko manages to convince his mother, of originally pro-Russian views, to leave her hometown of Volnovakha (placed between Donetsk and Mariupol in the east and destroyed during the next several weeks) for Kyiv, with only a purse and property ownership documents. On the following morning several million Ukrainians found themselves in an even more unfortunate position. But the Ukrainian army was ready. 

The book’s second half is an account of events based on the author’s experience—decisions and actions he takes, things he witnesses, and people he speaks to. Additionally, Ponomarenko gives a necessary assessment of the wider military efforts, calling out specific divisions, battalions, and military equipment engaged by both sides, focusing on the Northern Front and the Battle of Kyiv. Like a couple of million other Kyivans, by the end of the first day, the author flees the capital westward, primarily to get his mother to safety. He talks about the twelve hours on the road it took them to escape (for some this was 72 hours); a dreadful reality for several millions of people, who nonetheless can be considered lucky. Ponomarenko returned to Kyiv a few days later to tell the story of selflessness, tragedy, death, miraculous escapes, stoicism, heroism, victory against all odds, and a holocaust under occupation, at the north-western gates of Ukraine’s capital.  

Ponomarenko sadly smiles at “expert opinions” in the discussion about failed peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul in March-April 2022. While for the rest of the world it is a topic for political and diplomatic disputes, for common Ukrainians it is yet another obvious Russian manipulation. Rather than seeking to abandon its conquest ambitions, Russia was merely buying time to reconstitute its forces. The claimed “goodwill gesture” by Putin, for instance, was rather a Russian retreat, though some have proved unwilling to see through the act. Russia’s attempted blitzkrieg failed, for a number of significant reasons, but also primarily because Ukraine is its own, distinct, free, and brave nation. This is a reality Moscow has been stubbornly refused for centuries, and forms part of the myth that encapsulates its invasion rationale. Ponomarenko finishes with an online search for a fallen Russian soldier he saw—born thirty kilometres from the Mongolian border in Russia’s Far East. The Russian Federation is still an empire, holding hundreds of minorities for its cannon fodder. 

This is a review of Illia Ponomarenko’s I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv (Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, 2024). ISBN:9781639733873

Kyrylo Cyril Kutcher is a Master of Science with a fifteen-years transnational career, who used to live in Eastern Europe before immigrating to New Zealand. He is currently a final year student of the Politics and International Relations in the Massey University of Auckland.

This review is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.