For many Canadians, the war in Ukraine can feel very distant. While there has been a proliferation of Ukranian flags being flown here since the Russian invasion began in February, the conflict has faded in and out of Canadian newscasts and front pages over the last several months. All that changed this week when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “mobilization” of troops to deal with Ukraine’s sudden and unexpected advances in reclaiming territory previously occupied by the Russians. And at the same time, Putin made subtle references to potential nuclear options by saying “we will use all the means at our disposal to defend Russia and our people – this is not a bluff.”

What’s actually happening in Ukraine is difficult to understand from afar. But the global network of The Conversation has published some excellent explanatory articles and analyses over the last week that can give you a deeper knowledge of the situation in Ukraine. I’ve assembled some of the best of those pieces for your weekend reading.

There are also two new podcasts to take in over the weekend. Don’t Call Me Resilient, the anti-racism podcast produced by The Conversation Canada, released a special episode that looks at the way we mourn and who we mourn. The Conversation Weekly’s episode digs deep into the implications of the melting of the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. Both of these episodes are provocative and may cause you to think differently about important aspects of our world.

As we head into the weekend, our thoughts are with all of our friends in Atlantic Canada as they deal with Hurricane Fiona.

Scott White

CEO | Editor-in-Chief

Weekend Reads: The latest on the Ukraine war

Ukraine recap: what Putin’s mobilisation order means for the war and the west

Jonathan Este, The Conversation

Some of the key articles from our coverage of the war in Ukraine over the past week.

Ukraine war: mobilisation and forced conscription shows the failure of Russia’s inflexible ‘continental’ mindset

Basil Germond, Lancaster University

Russia’s rigid military structure and inflexible strategic thinking could well be its Achilles heel in Ukraine.

Ukraine war: Putin calls up more troops and threatens nuclear option in a speech which ups the ante but shows Russia’s weakness

Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham; Tatyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy

Vladimir Putin’s televised address to the Russian people is a desperate attempt to raise the stakes over the war in Ukraine.

Putin’s mobilisation speech: what he said and what he meant

Robert M. Dover, University of Hull

The west needs to understand the messages coming from Russia, not ignore them.

Putin plays the annexation card, pushing the war in Ukraine into a dangerous new phase

Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato

Despite the rhetoric and condemnation from UN leaders gathered in New York, Russian plans to annex eastern parts of Ukraine cannot be stopped. What could happen next?

Russian army: Putin details the next stage of the Ukraine war and who is being called up

Christopher Morris, University of Portsmouth

Russian reservists are now being conscripted after president Putin announced changes to his military plans.

Calls by Zelensky and Biden for UN reform are supported by people around the world – new survey

Farsan Ghassim, University of Oxford

Reform of the UN to make it more inclusive and accountable is long overdue, the two leaders have said.

US and Russia engage in a digital battle for hearts and minds

Jennifer Grygiel, Syracuse University

Russian government media are frequently criticized as being blatant propaganda. How do US government media measure up?

Podcasts

About the Queen, the Crown’s crimes and how to talk about the unmourned — Podcast

Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation

In the middle of the tremendous outpouring of love and grief for the Queen and the monarchy she represented, not everyone wants to take a moment of silence. And there are a lot of reasons why.

Thwaites Glacier: the melting, Antarctic monster of sea level rise – podcast

Daniel Merino, The Conversation; Gemma Ware, The Conversation

If and when the Thwaites Glacier melts, it will result in nearly 0.6 metres of sea level rise, but it holds back another three metres of sea level rise lurking within the Antarctic continent. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.