Why did Putin launch Operation Z in Ukraine? Do Ukrainian forces use neo-Nazi volunteers? What are the forces present and the reality of the military conflict for six months? What do we know about war crimes like Boutcha? Have Western economic sanctions worked? Does the massive shipment of weapons by Westerners have an effect on the conflict?

After the bestseller Putin: master of the game?, whose analytical work has been hailed around the world, Jacques Baud returns in this book to the root causes of the war in Ukraine and the reasons which led Vladimir Putin to intervene on February 24, 2022. Based on information from intelligence services and official reports, it analyzes the course of military actions and the way in which they were interpreted in the West. It explains the upheaval of the world order politically and economically, as well as the long-term consequences of Western sanctions on our daily lives. It reveals how the conflict could have been avoided and which tracks were voluntarily abandoned by the United States and Europe.