Powerful graphic journalism that highlights the contrasting realities of a Ukrainian journalist
and a Russian artist grappling with their own individual experiences of Russia’s war on
Ukraine—collected edited and illustrated by award-winning author Nora Krug Immediately
after Russia began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Nora Krug reached out
to two anonymous subjects—“K. ” a Ukrainian journalist and “D. ” a Russian artist—and began
what would become a year of correspondence. Based on her weekly interviews with K. and D. Krug
created this collection of illustrated accounts that chronicles two contrasting viewpoints from
opposing sides of the first year in this ongoing war. With millions displaced injured or
killed as a result of the invasion Krug presents a look at the devastating effects on an
everyday individual level. K.’s diary documents a year of emotional and existential distress.
She experiences loss in every sense of the word: the death of those close to her the
disconnection from her family and friends and the devastation of her country—but her account
is also a story about bravery and survival in the face of dire uncertainty. In juxtaposition
D.’s narrative details his disdain for his government’s murderous actions and his attempts at
emigrating his family abroad. He navigates his own struggle with cultural identity guilt and
lack of action in the face of a tyrannical regime—a perspective that is necessary in
challenging readers to confront the political actions of their own countries. Krug approaches
Diaries of War with the immense skill and thoughtfulness required to document these two
complicated experiences for the purpose of encouraging critical thinking. Published as an
Op-Comic series with the Los Angeles Times with a portion of the entries unique to this book
Diaries of War is a harrowing real-time record of an international conflict that continues to
devastate countless lives.
