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 ... The book is divided into 48 chapters spread out over 11 parts; such fragmentation is a sign that the story Trofimov is telling is still unfolding, its arc still unclear ... The book’s title is a line from Ukraine’s national anthem: 'Our enemies will vanish/Like dew at sunrise.' Trofimov clings to this rousing sentiment, even if the war reporter in him is constantly reminded that conflicts never work out that way. 'A long, grueling fight lay ahead,' he writes at the very end of the book. It’s a sober, plain-spoken assessment that doesn’t tell us all that much — which is also what makes it honest.
Captures some of the most gruesome, difficult stories of the war ... Brings expertise in weapons systems, brigades and troop movements, as well as patriotic memes. He also situates the battles of Kharkiv, Kherson and Donbas within the broader shape of the war ... Trofimov’s panorama of a rapidly mobilized country is part war correspondence, part road trip. His front-line dispatches from across pockmarked Ukraine are episodic and dark, with the photographer or security guy doling out occasional punchlines.
Trofimov is a rare instance of a reporter having first-hand knowledge of the country’s history and culture, not to mention ready access to many of its institutions, notably the army and its various ancillary units. This is reflected in the vivid reporting from the front
... Trofimov provides an excellent first draft of the war.
The author does an excellent job placing the unprovoked attack within the historical context of Ukrainian resistance to Russia and Russia’s equal insistence on dominating Ukraine. Trofimov also demonstrates the power of words in war as he examines the slogans, memes, and speeches that Ukrainians rally behind, contrasted with the empty and often ridiculous Russian propaganda used to justify and rationalize Putin’s invasion. This tour de force covers the first year of war in Ukraine and a solid second draft of history, as the author intended. We can hope for a second volume that will be the last, chronicling a truly independent Ukraine.
...he capably reveals how Ukraine managed to channel its steely motivation and national unity into real action on the battlefield. Trofimov also ably conveys that despite some wobbly local officials whose loyalties have been tested, there’s been no question where Ukraine has stood since 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea and essentially 'forfeited the sympathy of most Ukrainians, likely for generations.' Terrific on-the-ground reportage during the initial fraught months of the ongoing war.
...a comprehensive and harrowing eyewitness report on the war in Ukraine that focuses on the heroism of the country’s civilians and soldiers ... Interviewing civilians and soldiers, he also relays the dangers he and his photographer and driver faced in war zones and describes with palpable emotion seeing places of his youth. This thorough overview of the conflict extends until just before Ukraine’s offensive to retake Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in June 2023. Readers seeking a blow-by-blow account of the war will want to take a look.
