Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin and Russia’s War Against Ukraine

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Some of his confidantes were scared to speak, others fled abroad or reverted to Cold War style meetings in public parks.

I like how the author goes back on time to Crimea’s invassion on 2014 to give further context of the conflict. Owen has access to a lot of inside sources and is also not afraid to bring his and his family story to light, like a story about his 19-old son Nikita fleeing from mobilization in Moscow. Vladimir Putin apparently lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime – and Russia itself – at risk of destruction.Some of Matthews’s accounts of key battles, for example, are not first-hand but recreated through interviews and cuttings. Russia loses the war: Putin can be removed and assassinated, his successor will surely be much worse.

I was really impressed by the thoroughness of the narrative in Overreach (great title), and would have awarded 5 stars but I found the early part of the book, describing the history of Ukraine in great detail, to be too long-drawn out. Matthews’ answer may come as a surprise to a casual reader, because he emphasises the role of key figures in Putin’s inner circle, rather than the Russian President himself. Author gives an overview of the context that led to Russia launching a full-out war against Ukraine in 2022 starting from Putin's KGB career during Soviet Union times, rising to president of Russia and the developments that led to starting the first war in 2014 and annexing Crimea. But what all sides overlook and their genuine mistakes are on full display and are carefully and shrewdly observed. Unfortunately, this is often only true in the sense of history as “things that happened” – the interesting questions of history, those requiring careful arguments about causation and counterfactual, await more distance, better sources, and the attention of experts.

The chapter of war's economic consequences on Russia is hard to get through yet highly illuminating. Owen Matthews brings his own experience to the account from two angles: that of a man raising a family, with his Russian wife, living in Russia; and of a journalist who has reported from within and about Russia and its politics and wars for over a quarter of a century. He challenges, for example, the notion of Kyiv’s armed forces as outnumbered amateurs, pointing out that during the last eight years of the simmering Donbas conflict, some 900,000 Ukrainians have served, “making a vast reserve force with recent combat experience”.