Two weeks ago, Ukrainian forces pulled off a major counteroffensive against the larger Russian army. One of our most-read stories last week explains some of the military strategy Ukraine used to regain 2,000 square miles of land. One tactic: adapting the age-old use of deception to the modern information age. Benjamin Jensen of American University explains that the Ukrainian’s strategy served a pressing political need by stopping the conduct of staged referendums on support for Russia in the Kharkiv region – although the voting went ahead in other parts of the country on Friday.

Jensen concludes, “Moscow can still opt for a large-scale mobilization and continue the war until either Russian elites or its citizens turn on Putin and his inner circle.”

Have you ever wondered why most airplanes still run on jet fuel, and not electric power? Aerospace engineer Gökçin Çınar, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, answered our questions about how hybrid electric airplanes work and how soon we might be able to fly with less concern about the environmental costs.

Next week, we’ll bring you stories about how religion is shaping the Brazilian presidential election, why so many Nobel Prize winners are polymaths and the use of deep brain stimulation for treatment of OCD.

Thanks for reading – and if you haven’t tried our news quiz yet, it’s good fun. I got 7/8 right this week. Can you do better?

Also, we are providing five of our most-read articles in an e-book format. Click here to try it.