Book Review of
War in the Ukraine
Vol. 1: Armed Formations of the
Donetsk People’s Republic, 2014-2022
Full Colour Throughout
Author: Edward Crowther
Helion & Co. Ltd.
ISBN: 978-1-915070-66-1
Europe@War Series No. 21
ISBN: 978-1-915070-66-1
Europe@War Series No. 21
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $29.95
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $29.95
bHISTORY:
Vol 1 of War in Ukraine focuses on the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the largest of the two separatist entities in the east of the Ukraine. Armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic aims to provide an overview of their formation in 2014, their status up to the end of February 2022, and combat equipment, while also exploring issues around identity and symbology.
Loosely confederated with the armed formations of the neighbouring Luhansk People’s Republic, into the so-called “United Armed Forces of Novorossiya, in reality the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic, have retained a degree of autonomy over their units and planning.
Often dismissed in existing literature as mere proxy extensions of Russian forces, since their formation in the fighting in eastern Ukraine during 2014, the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic have developed into an integrated fighting force with more main battle tanks than several major Western military powers combined. The title also details some of the key military commanders, who have shaped the armed-formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic since 2014.
Another area of focus of the title explores the unusual and little-known “home-grown” military technological developments made by the Donetsk People’s Republic, including multiple launch-rocket systems, armoured vehicles,sniper rifles, small arms and remote weapons stations.
The emerging visual propaganda culture around the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic is also explained, with military glory and fallen personnel commemorated in large scale military parades, murals, monuments and even postage stamps.
War in Ukraine Vol. 1: Armed Formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic also presents a wealth of unique visual material, including unit patches, a selection of unique photographs, diagrams and maps, and will be of interest to anyone studying the conflict in the Ukraine.
THE BOOK:
Helion & Co. Ltd. is based in England
This book comes in soft-cover of 78 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a color photo of a T-63BV tank, bearing the flag of the Somalia Battalion, parading through Donetsk on 9 May 2019.
At the bottom of the cover there is a color side profile illustration of a combination of an immobilized BMD-2 Airborne Infantry Fighting vehicle on the rear of a KamAZ 4310 truck. It was most unusual. It is overall white with wide black vertical bands on it. It carries a large red shield, with gold stripes and a cavalryman on it, with black “bataboll” at the top.
The back cover shows 2 more color side profile illustrations of tanks.
A BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle used by the DPR. It is in a wave-pattern camouflage of tan, dark-green and red-brown. It shows no markings.
A parade-version of the T-72B Main Battle Tank, put on display for the May 9th parade in 2021, in Donetsk. It is painted in dark-green overall. It shows it flying the ceremonial OPR flag, which is a row of narrow yellow stripes along the lengths of the sides of the hull, with a white star in the center.
The book contains 55 color photos, including the cover. There are 46 color photos of uniform badges, a line-drawing map of Europe and a color map of the Ukraine, 12 color photos of propaganda billboards, a photo of a bust of Lenin with a flag, a photo of a memorial to 42 civilians who died at Odesa 2 May 2014, a photo of downtown Donetsk, a graveyard, a BMP-2, a poster, officers, the Donetsk airport, 3 photos of memorial at Savur-Mohyla and the cemetary there, a toy figure of a Russian soldier, a flag, a pack of cigarettes, an aid truck, infantry-men, 4 data lists, a BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, 2 photos of an AT-64B – one pulling a mine-exploder-trailer, a T-72B on parade, a BMP-2, soldiers on parade, 2 color maps of the Ukraine, an 251 Gvozdika 122mm self-propelled howitzer, a BM-21 Grad 122mm MLRS, a Zu-23-2 23mm anti-aircraft cannon –mounted on a Ural 43206 truck, and an Aero L-29 Delfin aircraft.
The colour side-profiles include:
A UAZ-23632-148 Esaul pickup truck. It is overall olive-drab with no markings shown.
A KamAZ -4310 stake-sided truck. Overall olive-drab with no markings shown.
A T-64BV tank. Overall olive-drab with St. George’s Ribbon down the sides in yellow lines with a white star in the center.
An MT-LB tank. Overall olive-drab, with a large white Ukrainian slogan down its side.
A second MT-LB tank. Overall olive-drab, with two white Ukrainian words down its sides, with a white outlined diamond with 15 on it.
A 9K35 Strela-10 tank. Overall olive-drab, with St. George Ribbon down its side with white star in center.
Two profiles of a BRDM-2 Armoured-car. Both in spot pattern camouflage of two shades of green, with a large white BHP on their sides.
A KamAZ 4310 truck (already described on the front cover).
A BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle. In a wave pattern of tan, dark-green and red-brown, with no markings shown.
A BMP-2, in same scheme as the BMP-1 above.
A BMP-3, in same scheme as the previous BMP’s.
A BTR-80 armoured-car. In a wave-pattern camouflage of tan and dark-green, with a white UZU on its sides.
A 251 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer. In a wave pattern camouflage of dark-green over an overall base of white. No markings shown.
An IS-4 heavy tank. Overall olive-drab with a red star on the turret sides and large white HAAbBOB on sides of its hull.
A T-64 in a wave pattern of tan, dark-green and red-brown, with the St. George insignia on its sides.
A T-74B (already described on the back cover of the book)
A T-72B, that is overall olive-drab, with no markings shown.
Two DPR militant figures. Each are wearing a camouflage uniform and armed with a rifle.
A third DPR militant figure, also in a camouflage unit and a blue beret and armed with a machine gun.
This is a neat book about the troops in the Ukraine. It will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review copy.
All Helion & Co. Ltd. books can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Vol 1 of War in Ukraine focuses on the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the largest of the two separatist entities in the east of the Ukraine. Armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic aims to provide an overview of their formation in 2014, their status up to the end of February 2022, and combat equipment, while also exploring issues around identity and symbology.
Loosely confederated with the armed formations of the neighbouring Luhansk People’s Republic, into the so-called “United Armed Forces of Novorossiya, in reality the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic, have retained a degree of autonomy over their units and planning.
Often dismissed in existing literature as mere proxy extensions of Russian forces, since their formation in the fighting in eastern Ukraine during 2014, the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic have developed into an integrated fighting force with more main battle tanks than several major Western military powers combined. The title also details some of the key military commanders, who have shaped the armed-formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic since 2014.
Another area of focus of the title explores the unusual and little-known “home-grown” military technological developments made by the Donetsk People’s Republic, including multiple launch-rocket systems, armoured vehicles,sniper rifles, small arms and remote weapons stations.
The emerging visual propaganda culture around the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic is also explained, with military glory and fallen personnel commemorated in large scale military parades, murals, monuments and even postage stamps.
War in Ukraine Vol. 1: Armed Formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic also presents a wealth of unique visual material, including unit patches, a selection of unique photographs, diagrams and maps, and will be of interest to anyone studying the conflict in the Ukraine.
THE BOOK:
Helion & Co. Ltd. is based in England
This book comes in soft-cover of 78 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a color photo of a T-63BV tank, bearing the flag of the Somalia Battalion, parading through Donetsk on 9 May 2019.
At the bottom of the cover there is a color side profile illustration of a combination of an immobilized BMD-2 Airborne Infantry Fighting vehicle on the rear of a KamAZ 4310 truck. It was most unusual. It is overall white with wide black vertical bands on it. It carries a large red shield, with gold stripes and a cavalryman on it, with black “bataboll” at the top.
The back cover shows 2 more color side profile illustrations of tanks.
A BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle used by the DPR. It is in a wave-pattern camouflage of tan, dark-green and red-brown. It shows no markings.
A parade-version of the T-72B Main Battle Tank, put on display for the May 9th parade in 2021, in Donetsk. It is painted in dark-green overall. It shows it flying the ceremonial OPR flag, which is a row of narrow yellow stripes along the lengths of the sides of the hull, with a white star in the center.
The book contains 55 color photos, including the cover. There are 46 color photos of uniform badges, a line-drawing map of Europe and a color map of the Ukraine, 12 color photos of propaganda billboards, a photo of a bust of Lenin with a flag, a photo of a memorial to 42 civilians who died at Odesa 2 May 2014, a photo of downtown Donetsk, a graveyard, a BMP-2, a poster, officers, the Donetsk airport, 3 photos of memorial at Savur-Mohyla and the cemetary there, a toy figure of a Russian soldier, a flag, a pack of cigarettes, an aid truck, infantry-men, 4 data lists, a BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, 2 photos of an AT-64B – one pulling a mine-exploder-trailer, a T-72B on parade, a BMP-2, soldiers on parade, 2 color maps of the Ukraine, an 251 Gvozdika 122mm self-propelled howitzer, a BM-21 Grad 122mm MLRS, a Zu-23-2 23mm anti-aircraft cannon –mounted on a Ural 43206 truck, and an Aero L-29 Delfin aircraft.
The colour side-profiles include:
A UAZ-23632-148 Esaul pickup truck. It is overall olive-drab with no markings shown.
A KamAZ -4310 stake-sided truck. Overall olive-drab with no markings shown.
A T-64BV tank. Overall olive-drab with St. George’s Ribbon down the sides in yellow lines with a white star in the center.
An MT-LB tank. Overall olive-drab, with a large white Ukrainian slogan down its side.
A second MT-LB tank. Overall olive-drab, with two white Ukrainian words down its sides, with a white outlined diamond with 15 on it.
A 9K35 Strela-10 tank. Overall olive-drab, with St. George Ribbon down its side with white star in center.
Two profiles of a BRDM-2 Armoured-car. Both in spot pattern camouflage of two shades of green, with a large white BHP on their sides.
A KamAZ 4310 truck (already described on the front cover).
A BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle. In a wave pattern of tan, dark-green and red-brown, with no markings shown.
A BMP-2, in same scheme as the BMP-1 above.
A BMP-3, in same scheme as the previous BMP’s.
A BTR-80 armoured-car. In a wave-pattern camouflage of tan and dark-green, with a white UZU on its sides.
A 251 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer. In a wave pattern camouflage of dark-green over an overall base of white. No markings shown.
An IS-4 heavy tank. Overall olive-drab with a red star on the turret sides and large white HAAbBOB on sides of its hull.
A T-64 in a wave pattern of tan, dark-green and red-brown, with the St. George insignia on its sides.
A T-74B (already described on the back cover of the book)
A T-72B, that is overall olive-drab, with no markings shown.
Two DPR militant figures. Each are wearing a camouflage uniform and armed with a rifle.
A third DPR militant figure, also in a camouflage unit and a blue beret and armed with a machine gun.
This is a neat book about the troops in the Ukraine. It will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review copy.
All Helion & Co. Ltd. books can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.