Why did Putin invade Ukraine?

This book argues that Putin's desire to unite Russians around a common set of principles and consolidate his personal brand of authoritarianism prompted him to pursue a policy of global counter-revolution; it was this which inspired Russia's military interventions in Crimea, Donbas and Syria, later steering Putin to war against Kyiv. Ramani explores why Putin opted for all-out regime change in Ukraine, rather than a smaller-scale intervention in Donbas, and considers the impact on his own regime's legitimacy.