The Global War in Ukraine: 2021-2025
As Lt. General (Retired) Preziosa, the former Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force underscored about the book: “The Global War in Ukraine 2021–2025 is a book about foresight, structure, and consequence. Ukraine is not at the periphery of the international order; it is the furnace in which that order is being reforged, one alliance choice, one industrial line, one software update, and one strategic decision at a time. In drawing these lines together, this volume does more than recount events; it frames a lens for the future.”
“For that, gratitude is owed to Robbin Laird. He has not only captured a piece of history with clarity and rigor but has also offered a vision of how democratic societies might navigate the trials ahead. His work reminds us that history is not merely about the past, it is a compass for the future, if we choose to read it.”
The Global War in Ukraine 2021–2025 shows how a seemingly regional war became the central front in a worldwide struggle between democratic and authoritarian powers. Drawing on three decades of research on Ukraine, Russia, and European security, Robbin Laird traces how unresolved post–Cold War tensions, especially the fate of Ukraine and Belarus as buffer states, evolved into a conflict that now links the Black Sea to the Indo-Pacific.
Laird explains how Russia’s invasion has drawn in an unprecedented cast of actors: North Korean troops and shells at the front, Iranian drones over Ukrainian cities, Chinese economic lifelines to Moscow, and Japanese and South Korean capabilities flowing to Kyiv and NATO allies. He shows how Ukraine has become a war laboratory for AI-enabled targeting, drone swarms, and rapid software-driven innovation, forcing a fundamental rethink of doctrine, deterrence, and defense industry.
This book offers both a map of how we reached this dangerous moment and a framework for understanding what comes next.