In the early hours of 24th February 2022, Russian forces attacked Ukraine. The brutality of the Russian assault has horrified the world. But Russians themselves appear to be watching an entirely different war - one in which they are the courageous underdogs and kind-hearted heroes successfully battling a malign Ukrainian foe.

Russia analyst Jade McGlynn takes us on a journey into this parallel military and political universe to reveal the often misconstrued attitudes behind Russian majority backing for the invasion. Drawing on media analysis and interviews with ordinary citizens, officials and foreign policy elites in Russia and Ukraine, McGlynn explores the grievances, lies and half-truths spun by the Kremlin and why they resonate with domestic audiences. Vladimir Putin may have launched this war, but Russians are fuelling, funding, and fighting it: this book explains why.

Discussion panel

• CHAIR/DISCUSSANT: Dr Natasha Kuhrt, Senior Lecturer in International Peace & Security, Dept of War Studies.
• SPEAKERS: Dr Jade McGlynn, Leverhulme EC Researcher, Dept of War Studies. 
• DISCUSSANTS: Prof Gulnaz Sharatfutdinova, Director, King's Russia Institute; Dr Victoria Hudson, British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dept of War Studies; Dr Mariia Zolkina, David Davies of Llandinam Research Fellow. 

Speaker Bio

Dr Jade McGlynn is a Leverhulme EC Researcher in the War Studies department at King’s College London. She is the author of Russia’s War (2023) and editor of two volumes on memory politics and history in Eastern Europe. She holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where she previously worked as a Lecturer in Russian. Jade’s research focuses on national identity, memory, media and popular culture in Russia and Ukraine. She is a frequent contributor to international media, including BBC, CNN, DW, Foreign Policy, The Times, The Telegraph and The Spectator.