I'm not a huge poetry guy, but I look at collections like this like collections of short stories, which I do usually like. Most can be described as some good, some bad, some just there, and this is no different. I don't think it's necessarily true that you have to be closely personally connected to something to write fiction or poetry about it, but my bar for people like that is substantially higher than it would be for people who aren't.

That said, the best of these are the ones the author wrote based on his own travels to Ukraine in the '90s (Brass Monkeys, First Trip to Kyiv June 1996, a couple others) and the ones written from the perspective of Russian war criminals (Staged Event is my single favorite poem from this collection, plus City Tour, Apology, and a couple others). The war criminals aren't shown as the good guys or good people, to be clear, it's more that the sociopathic cynicism as portrayed in these poems is very believable.

However, "Innocents" is definitely the worst of the lot as far as I'm concerned. The writing isn't bad, but the message reflects the concept that Russian soldiers are mostly unwilling pawns victimized by their leadership. On the one hand that's sort of true, on the other hand there have been numerous reports of mutinies by Russian troops for one reason or another, including a couple of accounts of stuff like a Russian soldier running over his commanding officer with a BMP or other vehicle. These people have weapons, armored vehicles, and the ability to say no, frag their officers, desert, surrender, or other stuff - even if this poem was written early in the war, Ukraine had several offers out to entice defections from the Russian military, plus other stuff. Portraying most of the Russian army as innocent victims of their own officers bears a resemblance, probably accidental, to the "clean Wehrmacht" myth. Bucha, Izyum and the other war crimes/mass graves clearly weren't just done by a few psychos, they were done by a lot of psychos.

That's the only one I really disliked - the rest were either good or just there. ( )

An exceptional book on Poetry based on what's happening in the Ukraine, from the point of view of an outsider. I felt moved by the struggles that families are going through there, due to the war. One poem brought me to tears for the sorrow families are feeling, for those lost in this war. Would highly recommend this book to everyone.
( )

A fine collection of 40 of so poems written in response to/as a reflection of the war with Ukraine. An english author has written a series of short poems (none exceed 30 lines) that are arranged chronologically (many with a small introductory sentence explaining the circumstances around the poem). The author uses repetition very well (see poems "The President", "Dying in the Ukraine" and "Big Men". The poems all speak to history as we have followed in it in the news (many "subjects' will immediately be remembered from various newscasts. I particularly enjoyed the various manners in which he looks at tanks (in poems "tanks" and "Afternoon Stroll"). Although each reader will create their own rhythm for these works, i find that most very quickly fall into a familiar, smooth pattern in my mind (i would love to hear some of these being read by the author). A small, but penetrating volume. ( )