War needs statistics. Numerical data on enemy casualties, equipment, losses and victories. But only those who come very close to it understand the nature of war. Only those and anyone who goes off to war themselves. War mercilessly exposes one’s innermost depths. Those perceived to be strong may prove to be weak, just as those perceived weak may in fact be strong.
When writing this book, Vahur Laiapea went to meet people who are deeply affected by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, whose loved ones it kills and maims, whose souls are left with scars that will never completely heal.
Vahur Laiapea is an Estonian documentary film maker and writer whose work has at times led him into extreme situations. On April 18, 2017, he was kidnapped in Afghanistan by members of the Taliban. Late that evening, he was standing on the edge of a ready dug grave expecting machine gun fire to riddle his back. It didn’t.
Laiapea has visited Ukraine on numerous occasions during the ongoing war. He is currently working on a documentary film and a book about Serhii Kazimir, a Ukrainian officer who returned home in January 2024 as the result of a prisoner exchange after having been a prisoner of war in Russia for almost two years.