WAR IN UKRAINE VOLUME 3: Armed formations of the Luhansk People’s Republic, 2014-2022, Europe@War #33 by Edward Crowther; Pages : 64 | Images : 72 colour photos, 7 colour illustrations,10 colour profiles, 3 maps, 1 table. Whilst printed in profile, the test is in two columns with insets images. 

War in Ukraine, Volume 3: Armed formations of the Luhansk People’s Republic, 2014–2022 focuses on the armed formations of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), one of the two separatist entities in the east of Ukraine. This volume aims to provide an overview of their formation in 2014, status up to the end of February 2022 (with some observations on their activities since the launch of Russia’s ‘Special Military Operation’), and combat equipment, while also exploring issues around identity and symbology.

A generally well written and genuinely interesting read, this will give you a basic understanding of the genesis of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia today, where Russia is seeking to re-establish itself as derzhava (great power - Russian). 

The book covers the origins of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, examines ideology and motivation, propaganda and symbology, through to key battles and formation of LPR units, and a conclusion which brings it all together. 

About my only critical is the book suffer from some grammar typographical punctuation error in places (and I'm no English professor myself) This caused me to re-read some sentences a couple of times to get the gist of it, but is not terminal to the overall quality of the book. It is well researched and an easy read which you'd get through in an afternoon, a weekend at most. 

For example, page 40, in discussing the supply of tanks to the LPR, "The models supplied to the LPR [from Russia, trying to maintain plausible deniability] were primarily the T-72B and T-72B1, but there were also limited numbers of the more advanced T-72B Model 1989, identified in service with the 'Cossack National Guard'. The T-72B Model 1989 was visually very different to the T-72B and T-72B1, having triangular Kontact-5 explosive reactive armour blocks around the turret, and modular Kontact-5 on the glacis plate." 

And, I did not know that Donbas is a portmanteau of Donets River Basin, where a portmanteau is a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of others. 

The book brings together analysis, first person interviews, and observations of the current situation with a bit of history, too. 

Easily recommended.