In the tradition of John Hersey’s Hiroshima, a terse and piercing look at a critical episode in the Ukraine War, from the award-winning author of They Will Have to Die Now.
In March of 2022, three weeks after invading Ukraine, Russian forces bombed the shelter housed in the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater, in the city of Mariupol. The bombing stands, to this day, as the single worst act of mass civilian killing of the war. This book tells the story of the group of ordinary Ukrainians—workers, teachers, actors—who built that shelter, giving succor to thousands of their countrypeople, before it was destroyed. Their audacity and humor and humanity in the midst the siege of Mariupol, against impossible odds, will leave readers inspired, amused, and devastated. Their story is the story of a young republic and its struggle to survive.
James Verini writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and National Geographic, among other publications. His journalism has received a National Magazine Award and a George Polk Award. He is the author of They Will Have to Die Now, about the battle that brought down ISIS.
Verini will be in conversation with Ambassador William B. Taylor Jr., a distinguished American diplomat and former U.S. Army officer, known for his work in foreign policy, specifically in Ukraine, the Middle East, and former Soviet states. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (2006–2009) and later as Chargé d’Affaires in Kyiv (2019–2020)
Verini and Taylor Jr. will be introduced by Olga Stefanishyna, who was appointed as Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States of America on August 27, 2025. Before that, she served as the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine. She was also a member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. She chaired the Commission on Coordination of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic Integration, where she led the development of the adapted Annual National Program. After Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, 2022, she led the accession process. By a presidential decree on June 21, 2024, she was designated as the chief negotiator and head of Ukraine’s delegation for EU accession talks. Since the onset of the full-scale war, Stefanishyna has strengthened Ukraine’s collaboration with the UN to provide comprehensive support to individuals affected by war-related violence, in particular assisting survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.