Winner of the Pushkin House Book Prize 2023

*A Telegraph Book of the Year*

A Times Best Book of Summer 2023

*Shortlisted for the Parliamentary Book Awards*

An astonishing investigation into the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war – from the corridors of the Kremlin to the trenches of Mariupol.

The Russo-Ukrainian War is the most serious geopolitical crisis since the Second World War – and yet at the heart of the conflict is a mystery. Vladimir Putin apparently lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime – and Russia itself – at risk of destruction. Why?

Drawing on over 25 years’ experience as a correspondent in Moscow, as well as his own family ties to Russia and Ukraine, journalist Owen Matthews takes us through the poisoned historical roots of the conflict, into the Covid bubble where Putin conceived his invasion plans in a fog of paranoia about Western threats, and finally into the inner circle around Ukrainian president and unexpected war hero Volodimir Zelensky.

Using the accounts of current and former insiders from the Kremlin and its propaganda machine, the testimony of captured Russian soldiers and on-the-ground reporting from Russia and Ukraine, Overreach tells the story not only of the war’s causes but how the first six months unfolded.

With its panoramic view, Overreach is an authoritative, unmissable record of a conflict that shocked Europe to its core.

In Overreach, Owen Matthews masterfully unravels the complex tapestry of history, geopolitics, and conflicts that have defined the Soviet Union. This top-tier work is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the wars and crimes that have shaped our world.

For fans of Simon Scarrow (The Honour of Rome), Antony Beevor (Russia), Bill Browder (Orden de embargo. Una historia real de blanqueo de dinero, asesinatos y...), Mark Galeotti (Russia’s Wars in Chechnya), and Robert Peston (WTF?).

HarperCollins 2022