A Small, Stubborn Town

Andrew Harding's "A Small, Stubborn Town" offers a compelling and intimate portrait of life in Ukraine during one of the most turbulent periods in the nation's modern history. As the BBC's Africa correspondent who covered Ukraine extensively, Harding brings his seasoned journalistic eye to bear on the story of Makiivka, a small town in eastern Ukraine that became emblematic of the broader conflicts tearing the country apart.

The book focuses on the lived experiences of ordinary Ukrainians caught between competing forces during the war that erupted following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent conflict in the Donbas region. Rather than approaching the subject through geopolitical analysis or military strategy, Harding grounds his narrative in the personal stories of residents who found themselves navigating impossible choices as their town became contested territory.

Harding's reporting style emphasizes close observation and careful listening, allowing the voices of Makiivka's residents to drive the narrative forward. The book captures the confusion, fear, and determination of people whose daily routines were shattered by the arrival of armed separatists, the departure of Ukrainian forces, and the establishment of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. Through detailed accounts of specific individuals and families, the author illustrates how abstract political conflicts translate into concrete human consequences.

The strength of this work lies in its refusal to simplify a complex situation. Harding presents a community divided not simply along clear political lines but fractured by family loyalties, economic pressures, historical grievances, and competing visions of identity. Some residents welcomed the separatists as liberators from what they perceived as an oppressive Ukrainian government, while others viewed the same forces as invaders destroying their homeland. Many simply wanted to survive, caught in the crossfire of forces beyond their control.

The book documents the gradual transformation of a functioning town into a war zone, tracing how institutions collapsed, services disappeared, and normal life became increasingly untenable. Harding describes the practical challenges faced by residents: securing food and medicine, protecting children, maintaining employment, and deciding whether to stay or flee. These mundane concerns, rendered urgent by conflict, provide a window into the psychological toll of sustained instability.

Harding's access to diverse perspectives within the community strengthens the narrative considerably. The book includes encounters with pro-Russian separatists, Ukrainian loyalists, opportunists, idealists, and those who simply wanted to avoid taking sides. This range of voices prevents the work from becoming a simple morality tale and instead presents war as a multifaceted disaster affecting people in varied and unpredictable ways.

The author also examines the role of propaganda and information warfare in shaping perceptions within the town. Russian television broadcasts painted one version of events while Ukrainian media offered another, leaving residents to navigate competing narratives while experiencing the reality on the ground. Harding shows how this information environment contributed to the fracturing of community bonds and the hardening of opposing positions.

Throughout the book, Harding maintains a journalistic distance while conveying genuine empathy for the people whose stories he tells. His prose is clear and direct, avoiding unnecessary embellishment while still capturing the emotional weight of the situations he describes. The writing conveys both the specificity of Makiivka's experience and its broader relevance to understanding modern conflict.

The book also serves as a historical document, capturing a particular moment in Ukraine's ongoing struggle with Russian aggression. While published before the full-scale invasion of 2022, the patterns Harding identifies in Makiivka—the tactics of destabilization, the exploitation of genuine grievances, the human cost of territorial ambitions—proved tragically prescient. The work provides essential context for understanding how the broader war developed and why communities across Ukraine have responded with such fierce resistance.

"A Small, Stubborn Town" demonstrates the value of immersive, ground-level journalism in making sense of complex geopolitical events. By focusing on one community in granular detail, Harding illuminates dynamics that would remain abstract in broader historical or political accounts. The book reminds readers that behind every conflict statistic are individual human beings making impossible decisions under extraordinary pressure. For anyone seeking to understand the human dimensions of the war in Ukraine, this work provides an essential and deeply affecting perspective on how ordinary people endure when their world is torn apart.