Event Coverage Highlight
Book Night: ‘Our Enemies Will Vanish’
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On Jan. 24, the OPC and Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism at Columbia University will co-sponsor a discussion with author Yaroslav Trofimov, the chief foreign-affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, in conversation with Columbia Journalism School’s Azmat Khan for a discussion of his new book, Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Trofimov has delved deeply into the conflict, often on its front lines. In this authoritative account, he traces the war’s decisive moments to show how Ukraine and its allies have battled in a modern-day version of David and Goliath. Vladimir Putin had intended to conquer Ukraine with a vicious blitzkrieg, redrawing the map of Europe in a few weeks. But the Ukrainians fought back, and are now locked in a brutal, bloody stalemate. This is the story of the epic bravery of the Ukrainian people—the same people Trofimov knows so well.
For Trofimov, this war is deeply personal. He grew up in Kyiv, and his family lived there for generations. With deep empathy, Trofimov tells the story of how everyday Ukrainian citizens—schoolteachers, doctors, computer programmers and businesspeople—have risked their lives and lost their loved ones. He blends their brave and tragic stories with expert military analysis, providing unique insight into the thinking of Ukrainian leadership as they map out the next stages of the war.
Khan, whose reporting on civilian casualties from U.S.-led airstrikes won the OPC’s Ed Cunningham Award in 2017, the Roy Rowan Award in 2021, and a Pulitzer Prize in 2022, will guide the discussion. They will be introduced by Bill Grueskin, a Columbia Journalism professor and former colleague of Trofimov at the Journal.
