Our Enemies Will Vanish

The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence

By: Yaroslav Trofimov

Narrated by: David Furr

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist • Winner of the Peterson Literary Prize

“Our Enemies Will Vanish achieves the highest level of war reporting: a tough, detailed account that nevertheless reads like a great novel. One is reminded of Michael Herr's Dispatches . . . Frankly, it's what we have all aspired to. I did not really understand Ukraine until I read Trofimov's account.”—Sebastian Junger

A revelatory eyewitness account of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and heroism of the Ukrainian people in their resistance by Yaroslav Trofimov, the Ukrainian chief foreign-affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yaroslav Trofimov has spent months on end at the heart of the conflict, very often on its front lines. In this authoritative account, he traces the war’s decisive moments—from the battle for Kyiv to more recently the gruelling and bloody arm wrestle involving the Wagner group over Bakhmut—to show how Ukraine and its allies have turned the tide against Russia, one of the world’s great military powers, in a modern-day battle of David and Goliath. Putin had intended to conquer and annex Ukraine with a vicious blitzkrieg, redrawing the map of Europe in a few short weeks with seismic geopolitical consequences. But in the face of this existential threat, the Ukrainian people fought back, turning what looked like certain defeat into a great moral victory, even as the territorial battle continues to seesaw to this day. This is the story of the epic bravery of the Ukrainian people—people Trofimov knows very well.

For Trofimov, this war is deeply personal. He grew up in Kyiv and his family has lived there for generations. With deep empathy and local understanding, Trofimov tells the story of how everyday Ukrainian citizens—doctors, computer programmers, businesspeople, and schoolteachers—risked their lives and lost loved ones. He blends their brave and tragic stories with expert military analysis, providing unique insight into the thinking of Ukrainian leadership and mapping out the decisive stages of what has become a perilous war for Ukraine, the Putin regime, and indeed, the world.

This brutal, catastrophic struggle is unfolding on another continent, but the United States and its NATO allies have become deeply implicated. As the war drags on, it threatens to engulf the world. We cannot look away. At once heart-breaking and inspiring, Our Enemies Will Vanish is a riveting, vivid, and first-hand account of the Ukrainian refusal to surrender. It is the story of ordinary people fighting not just for their homes and their families but for justice and democracy itself.

©2024 Yaroslav Trofimov (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A brilliant and stirring account of the months after the invasion... Yaroslav Trofimov, who has covered the war for the Wall Street Journal, is Ukrainian by birth. By layering detail upon telling detail from his notebooks, he builds up a vivid picture of how the men and women of Ukraine repulsed the Russian blitzkrieg with cleverness and courage.” —The Economist

“A kind of cinema verité on the page, an account of the war that’s as close as one can get to that first draft of history as it’s spoken by those who experienced the events. . . . Trofimov has collected a chorus of voices that add up to the truest first draft I have yet to read of the first chaotic year. Like those soldiers breathlessly recounting the just-fought battle, he’s helped us make sense of one of the grimmest wars of our time.” —Elliot Ackerman, The Atlantic

“Our Enemies Will Vanish is clearly not an outsider’s account, though as an experienced reporter, Trofimov mostly avoids the twin temptations of personalizing and pontificating, instead hewing closely to what he sees . . . It’s a sober, plain-spoken assessment that doesn’t tell us all that much—which is also what makes it honest.” —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times

“Captures some of the most difficult, gruesome stories of the war . . . Trofimov's panorama of a rapidly mobilized country is part war correspondence, part road trip. Those details are so intense that they sharpen everything around them. You can practically taste the gas station hot dogs and Lavazza espressos, or the negronis Trofimov can sometimes find at a hotel bar.” —Washington Post

“Trofimov’s book is a comprehensive account of the startling and heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people . . . [it] catalogues, in a quietly devastating way, the sheer human cost of the war.” —National Review

Ground-level reporting on the war

This book gives a sense of what life is like at the front lines and in the towns that have been impacted by artillery fire and aerial bombing. It lends a voice to the many Ukrainian civilians and soldiers who were interviewed and have their personal stories recounted. The narration is good too. Well worth picking up.

Vital and necessary history marred by a terrible narrator

Trofimov’s work is the best work of journalism on our century’s largest conflict. It is gripping, infuriating, sad, and inspiring by turns. However, you would think that the producers of a book about Ukraine would have chosen a narrator who had at least rudimentary experience with Slavic names. This is not the case here. The narrator’s pronunciation of Ukrainian personal and place names is abysmal and does not do justice to the importance of the narrative.

Detailed and enthralling if not a little one sided

I liked the personal interviews and anecdotes woven I. With the historical timeline. Good performance

Compelling First-Person Account

Phenomenal first-person account and compelling perspective on the first year of the Russo-Ukrainian War. A must-read for those with an interest in this conflict and the future of Ukraine.

Great gonzo journalism

I thought that this was excellent on the confusion and conflicting principles of the early conflict and the moments before it.

It jumps about too much to be the best military guide, it’s too shallow in the politics to be the best political guide (that’s probably The Showman), but it feels like the best non-fiction book for capturing the Ukrainian spirit and the social dynamics that have led to Russia falling so short in its initial invasion and losing so much even of that since.

There are other journalists writing out there, but this felt the most like I do when interviewing people in Ukraine, the most like their stories were really being told.

good account of the events

Great good and narration. One note is that many proper names are mispronounced but I guess it is of a lesser importance to largeer audiance.

Riveting

Factual. Engaging from beginning to end. Well worth the time. Wished for more to "read." Narration was excellent.

Fantastic book

Perfect combination of personal experiences during the war’s first year as well as an accurate overview of the geopolitical situation and implications. Should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A Honest And Truthful Look Into What's Happening In Ukraines War of Independence From The Dictatorship Of Russia.

wow just wow. this is the exact kind of book I was looking for. a first hand experience in what's happening in Ukraine that's not being covered by the Soros controlled midea around the world. ibrely liked how the author wrote in a way where the book brought us into the trenches and lives of the Ukrainian defenders. it also showcased daily life in a war zone. it also reinforced my belief that Ukrainian is a nation of hope. I personally stand with my Ukrainian friends and the people of Ukraine in prayer for their winning of the Russian Dictators war against them.

Love it or not, endure it, my beauty

Trofimov has a gift for picking details and anecdotes that capture what we saw unfold in news reports the past two years, making the reader feel present. The book is terrific, and David Furr's narration is clear and compelling.