The Dogs of Mariupol. Russia's Invasion and the Forging of Ukraine's Iron Generation

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, thousands of Ukrainian citizens strapped on armour, picked up weapons and chose to risk their lives for the freedom of their homeland. Many would never return. Choosing to stay in Ukraine and cover the invasion, journalist Tom Mutch witnessed the forging of an ‘iron generation’ of young Ukrainians.

With first-hand reporting from all the major battlegrounds and front lines, The Dogs of Mariupol recounts not only the war’s notorious encounters but also its untold stories, painstakingly documenting the immense human catastrophe wrought on Ukrainian society and the divisions between those who fought and those who fled.

After four years of conflict, Ukraine holds on, but a peace agreement remains elusive. Meanwhile, the death toll only rises. In this revised and expanded edition, Tom Mutch charts the struggles behind the headlines – both of ordinary Ukrainians and their wartime leaders – and positions the invasion within the changing face of warfare and the breakdown of the global order itself.