Writing the Russian Ukraine War Factbook (Part 2B: Discovery from the Research)

 

You can only plan so much before you have to start the research, and sometimes research turns up things that change your writing. The research here forced me to write more than I intended, but O felt it was necessary to give a complete picture of the war.

For half of my life, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, Russian in all but name. I knew before I started that they had suffered under Stalin, and was a prime bone of contention between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for a large chunk of WWII. They gained independence in the early 90's, struggled for the next twenty years, and has been accused of being corrupt. their president, Zelensky, had been a TV personality and producer before winning the Presidency of Ukraine.

But I started researching, and discover that the Ukrainians have been fighting to establish themselves as having their own identity, separated from the Russians and Belorussians, for centuries. Kyiv was an established center of Slavic culture while Moscow was still a fortified village in Russia. They reached their heights around the 111th-12th centuries, before becoming vassal states to different masters before coming under the Tsars of Russia. Not being treated any better than other parts of Russia when WWI rolled around, they tried to fight their way to independence, only to be caught between the White Russians, the Red Russians, the Allies, and the German-Austro-Hungry forces. Unable to break free, the Ukrainians fell under the new Russian government of Vladimir Lenin.

The worst was to come, as Stalin used the Ukrainian farmland to feed his new program of industrialization and modernization. this resulted in the Holodomor -- 3,000,000 to 6,000,000 Ukrainian men, women and children dying of starvation in 1931-32. Something like that has a long-term affect on a society, and the Ukrainians have long memories.

After doing this research and discovering the deep history between these two countries, I have to include it. This war is not something that has come about in recent years; it is the latest chapter in a simmering conflict that had been under the surface for centuries.

Another thing that was unexpected was the difference between the doctrine of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) and the Russian Armed Forces (RAF). Up to 2014, the UAF was a mirror of the RAF, as the new country had inherited their military from the former Soviet Union. Even with the war, the Ukrainians are still using mostly Soviet/Russian equipment, which is an advantage when it comes to using captured Russian vehicles.

But after the Russian seizure of the Crimea and the Donbas uprising, the Ukrainians realized their army, a victim of the country's economical problems, turned to the west for help. What they got was mostly training for their soldiers, resulting in a shift away from Soviet-era doctrine to a NATO-based doctrine. This has allowed the Ukrainians to be more nimble, flexible, and quicker to respond to any situation. That along with the supplied weapons from the west, has been a major reason for Ukraine's ability to blunt the Russian Juggernaut.

I found out other things that surprised me, but I think I will let the book do the talking. If you want to take a closer look at the book, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

That's all for this post. I am proud of the work I've done on this book and I ask you to please buy it.

Later!

Craig

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If you want to take a closer look at the book, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

For my other non-Battletech writing, all four of the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. In the US: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom,

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels:

Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler

Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible)

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!