The achievements of colleagues always lift spirits, especially when it involves the writing and publication of a book by a leading Ukrainian publishing house—a work that, without exaggeration, holds significant historical and cultural importance. Pani Liudmyla, who served as a strategic communications adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, from 2021 until early March 2023, has systematized and recorded her memories of the events related to the active phase of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which she witnessed through her official duties.
As a professional communicator, pani Liudmyla also highlights the crucial leadership and personal qualities of the former Commander-in-Chief, which, according to her, transformed the culture within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ensuring that "it is no longer Soviet and will never become Soviet" [p. 141]. This valuable perspective is powerfully reflected in her work, The Iron General: Lessons of Humanity, which portrays the first and most challenging months of resistance to the invasion.
Additionally, readers of the book will be intrigued to learn whether the army had prepared in advance for the invasion, how the General Staff's communication strategy was structured at the start of the aggression, who managed social media, why the General Staff's spokesperson had to be conscripted, and various episodes involving the critical decisions made by Ukraine's leadership and its partners in support of our resistance.
The AUK library's collection has been enriched with two copies of this book, and pani Liudmyla has included her heartfelt wishes to the readers.
