“Candace Rondeaux has given us a riveting story of how Putin used a criminal mercenary organization to do his dirty work . . . Putin’s Sledgehammer is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of Russia and how to counter the Kremlin’s wars . . . across the globe.”
– H.R. McMaster
Former U.S. National Intelligence Advisor
“This description of the rot in Russia is brilliant. Candace Rondeaux exposes the corruption in the Russian military that hollowed out its fighting ability, the fragility of its chain of command, the infighting within the Russian security services, the damaging effect of the loss of Syria and African battles. Prigozhin's Wagner Group, Russia's shadow army, was brutal, amoral, ruthless--evil.”
– Bill Taylor
Former Ambassador to Ukraine
“Rondeaux places Prigozhin and other paramilitary warlords, who had been active in fighting Ukraine long before the 2022 invasion, in the context of contemporary Russian politics, with Putin betting that the West had no strategies to counter them—correctly, she adds…An illuminating look at a nationalist army.”