Amazing research on how the Russo-Ukrainian War began, from the Kremlin's hallways to Mariupol's trenches. Even if the Russo-Ukrainian War is the most significant geopolitical issue since the Second World War, there is a mystery at its core. Vladimir Putin's transformation into a reckless gambler from a cunning, delicate master of chance appears to have happened suddenly, endangering both his government and Russia itself. Why? Journalist Owen Matthews takes us through the conflict's poisoned historical roots, into the Covid bubble where Putin conceived his invasion plans in a fog of paranoia about Western threats, drawing on his own family's ties to Russia and Ukraine as well as his more than 25 years of experience as a correspondent in Moscow.