The Russian Front : The War in Ukraine As Told by a Correspondent Among Putin’s Soldiers

Traversing the chaos of eastern Ukraine, a firsthand diary unveils seven harrowing months in the Donbas where Russian troops and local civilians endure relentless battles and hardships. Amid trench warfare and strategic retreats, the narrative exposes seldom-seen combat realities and the fierce struggle over information.

Russian Front is a firsthand war diary recounting Italian-Swiss journalist Luca Steinmann’s seven months in 2022 in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where he lived among Russian troops and civilians. He arrived there on February 18, 2022, crossing the Russian border and never imagining that just hours later Russian President Vladimir Putin would order the closure of the region’s borders, leaving him one of the very few Western witnesses to the invasion that was about to unfold. Over those months, Steinmann moved with the troops through battles and retreats, experienced life in the trenches, and shared the civilians’ struggles under bombardment. Russian Front provides a unique, neutral account of the war, shedding light on combat experiences rarely covered by the Western mainstream media while exploring the critical role of information during armed conflict.