Eight months on, despite almost worldwide condemnation of Vladimir Putin's actions, the fighting remains vicious and vast swathes of Ukraine are without water or electricity. As for a possible coup, he adds: "Putin is from the KGB, he is very well protected. He has made the two Russian secret services - the FSB and GRU, the Army intelligence service - fight each other, the typical behaviour of a dictator. The truth is, nobody's happy there. In reality they have already lost the war. They can still destroy Ukraine, but the war is lost." On the eve of the February onslaught, a Ukrainian spy chief briefs Harding: “Ukraine had a ‘pretty good understanding’ of its neighbour, but Russian expertise on Ukraine, on the other hand, was ‘very weak’. Ukrainians spoke Ukrainian and Russian; Russians didn’t understand the Ukrainian language or the country’s culture. He added: ‘They consider us to be a lost province.’” He points out that historical truth and trauma are returned to the people through works of art, literature, and cinema. Ukraine will either be free, independent, and European, or it will not exist at all. (…) Ukrainians did not give up even when they were not free – after WW2, the partisan war against the Soviets in Ukraine continued until the early 1960s. Ukrainians will not now give up, especially after thirty years of free and independent life.”

We have a small garden and we hope that we can plant potatoes and carrots for ourselves. For us it is a hobby, but what kind of hobby can you have during a war? If the Ukrainian army manages to drive the Russian military away from our region, we will try to return to Lazarevka, to live a normal life again. Although the term "normal life" now seems but a myth, an illusion. In actuality, there can be no normal life for my generation now. Every war leaves a deep wound in the soul of a person. It remains a part of life even when the war itself has ended. I have the feeling that the war is now inside me. It is like knowing that you live with a tumour that cannot be removed. You cannot get away from the war. It has become a chronic, incurable disease. It can kill, or it can simply remain in the body and in the head, regularly reminding you of its presence, like a disease of the spine. I fear I will carry this war with me even if my wife and I some day go on holiday – to Montenegro or Turkey, as we once did." Diary of an Invasion by the Ukrainian writer, Andrey Kurkov, consists of personal diary entries, texts on various subjects, wartime notes and essays spanning the period of seven months, starting at the end of December 2021 with the last entry recorded in July 2022. This is a chronicle of one person’s feelings, thoughts, emotions during the time of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. This is also a portrayal of the Ukrainian society, Ukrainian culture, and Ukrainian nationhood. Despite the continuous attempts by the Russian aggressor to destroy the Ukrainian nation, Kurkov writings show the strengthening of Ukrainian national identity. Vakulenko’s friend Yulia Kalulia-Danyliuk with his portrait in the local children’s library. Photograph: Ed Ram/The Guardian Nothing is being published in Ukraine now and I cannot imagine much reading going on among Ukrainians either. I don’t read, although I try to. War and books are incompatible. But after the war, books will tell the story of the war. They will fix the memory of it, form opinions and stir emotions.

Summary

A woman in Kyiv prays on the day Putin announced the ‘special military operation’ in eastern Ukraine. Photograph: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images Despite the destruction, morale remains good, he says. His 25-year-old daughter recently returned to Kyiv from London to join her brother, and is now looking for a job. Kurkov's diary first came out online. I'd read parts of it and found it insightful and I'd wanted to read it properly. Now I'm glad to have read it from the beginning. The diary is insightful in the way it describes the events that led up to the war. It delves into a bit of history and it is very informative to read. It is also inspiring in the way it describes how ordinary Ukrainians have continued to live their everyday life inspite of the war and show everyday acts of heroism. It also describes the kindness of strangers, people who help others in need because they've been displaced because of the war. Kurkov himself is living in a stranger's apartment after he had moved away from his home, and his landlady tells him that he can stay in the apartment however long he wants and he can use everything that is there in her home. His own kids help refugees everyday. This is how the world survives, a country runs, because of the kindness of strangers.

From day one I stopped writing fiction. I couldn't concentrate on anything but reality. So, when I was asked to comment about events, I started speaking on radio and television then writing about what was happening." This review could go on and on due to my fascination with so many parts of it. Even the multiple typos I came across didn’t have enough weight this time to result in a reduction in the rating! I would suggest this book to each and everyone who is interested in Ukraine, the currently ongoing war and the people’s stories behind it. I’m really glad about having discovered the author and am looking forward to reading more of his books. To sum it all up, I will leave one last quote here: When war approaches your home you are left with a choice – to evacuate or accept occupation. A person starts thinking about this choice well before the first explosions are heard on the outskirts of their city or village. War is like a tornado. You can see it from afar, but you cannot easily predict where it is going next. You cannot be sure whether it will blow your house away or only pass nearby, whether it will uproot a few trees in your garden, or blow the roof off your house. And you can never be sure that you will remain alive, even if the house itself is only slightly damaged." Diary of an Invasion' is Andrey Kurkov's diary written during the ongoing war in Ukraine. It starts a few months before the war and describes the events leading up to the war and Kurkov's own everyday, personal experiences. It ends at a time a few months after the start of the war. The diary runs for around six months. Around the time the diary ends, the expectation was that the war will get over before winter or latest by spring. But now we know that the war has dragged on into the second year with no end in sight. Kurkov says in his epilogue that he is continuing to work on this diary and we can expect a sequel.I believe this book is incredibly important to read, especially for Westerners as this provides an up close and personal account of the war, from someone who is Ukrainian and has lived in Ukraine most of his life, and is well known there as an Ukrainian author. Some of his takes on the war and western responses to it were quite refreshing. Immediate and important ... This is an insider's account of how an ordinary life became extraordinary' Helen Davies, The Times