"The prolific military chronicler and analyst Mark Galeotti has produced exactly the right book at the right time." -- The Times "Mark Galeotti is one of the most insightful and incisive analysts on Russia's past, present, and future. Russia's February 2022 expanded invasion of Ukraine tragically highlights the critical importance of understanding the connection between politics and war. Galeotti vividly shows how Russia has waged its wars. [and] how those wars shaped the country's politics and, in turn, how politics shaped Moscow's military campaigns." -- Joshua C. Huminski, Director, Mike Rogers Center for Intelligence and Global Affairs, Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress "This is a vivid account of how Putin has used armed force during his time in power, culminating in the deadly war in Ukraine." -- Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London "An accessible, lucid and vivid comprehensive contemporary account of the inner workings, logic and rationales of the central military pillar of Putinism.

I unreservedly recommend this gem." -- Dr Graeme P. Herd, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies " Putin's Wars is Galeotti at his finest: writing that moves like a spy novel and enough information for the student or professional reader . An excellent and accessible contribution to the field for seasoned Russian observers and those interested in the larger sweep of how it all transpired." -- Dr Yuval Weber, Bren Chair of Russian Military and Political Strategy at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Creativity at the US Marine Corps University "Galeotti's work is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand current events in Ukraine" --Gillian Tett, The Financial Times " Mark Galeotti has written the essential backstory to the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 : Putin's Wars: From Chechnya to Ukraine . " -- The Warbird's Forum "In Putin's Wars , Mark Galeotti, a British scholar and journalist highly regarded by experts on Russian military matters, attributes the unexpected battlefield outcome to Russian weaknesses as well as Ukrainian strengths (greatly abetted by NATO weapons and American intelligence resources), but he lays out a persuasive, detailed case that Russia's deficiencies are more severe and more deeply rooted than many Western officials and pundits had detected." -- New York Review of Books.