Book Description: GUR Island. Secrets. Operations. War by Maksym Butchenko

This work of narrative nonfiction explores the work of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. At its center are the people who take part in complex, high-risk missions while remaining largely out of the public eye. Maksym Butchenko examines how operations are planned and the decisions that must be made amid uncertainty. The book offers a look inside wartime intelligence and the role it plays in Ukraine’s defense.

Butchenko also traces how Ukrainian military intelligence has changed during the war and explores what motivates the people behind its operations. Drawing on interviews with participants and material from open sources, he brings together firsthand accounts and documented information about contemporary special operations. The book captures the risk, responsibility, and pressure that come with this work.

For readers interested in Ukraine’s contemporary military history, intelligence operations, and the work of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.