It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
Live. Fight. Survive.

Live. Fight. Survive.

An ex-British soldier’s account of courage, resistance and defiance fighting for Ukraine against Russia

Summary

READ FORMER BRITISH ARMY SOLDIER SHAUN PINNER’S EXTRADORDINARY FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE

For fans of Bravo Two Zero, Touching the Void, and No Way Out


‘A hell of a story’ Sgt Dan Mills, Sniper One


‘A remarkable book’ Andrew Marr


----


‘Live. Fight. Survive,’ she said. So, he did . . .


There are just two places Shaun Pinner has felt most at home: first, during his nine years in the British Army and, second, in Ukraine, where he settled after marrying. It was only natural then, that when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, he was on the front line leading a section of marines.


Outnumbered and outgunned, Pinner's troops staged a fighting retreat to Mariupol for that remarkable, defiant last stand against Putin’s war machine. But this was just the beginning of Shaun’s ordeal. When his troops were ambushed, Shaun was captured – and his war shifted from the battlefield to the interrogation room, when the real fight for survival began . . .


---


‘A remarkable story from the frontline. Extraordinary descriptions [of] what it's actually like to be in a trench fighting in the winter on the front line against the Russians’ ANDREW MARR


‘An extraordinary real-life story’ ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS


‘I was mesmerised. Unforgettable’ COLONEL RICHARD KEMP, CO-AUTHOR OF ATTACK STATE RED

Reviews

  • Intense, unflinching, extraordinary
    British Army Review

About the author

Shaun Pinner

Born in Watford, Shaun Pinner served for nine years with the British Army's Royal Anglian Regiment, latterly as part of 24 Airmobile Brigade on operations for the UN in Bosnia. He joined the Ukrainian military in 2018 as the country rebuilt its armed forces following the annexation of Crimea. He was deployed to a forward position with the Air Assault Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Brigade, Ukrainian Marines when Russian invaded in February 2022. Captured after the siege of Mariupol, he spent the next six months as prisoner of war. Following his release in September 2022, Shaun was awarded Ukraine's Order of Courage by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He has since travelled extensively briefing NATO forces on his experiences. He is currently living in Ukraine with his wife, Larysa.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more