Thousands of miles from war in Ukraine, Canadian students study the language, culture and religion of their ancestors in Eastern Europe. Protesters demonstrate against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 27 February 2022. (Jason...
The Arctic has long been a region of peace. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is jeopardizing cooperation in the vast zone threatened by climate change. An Inuit family in Quinhagak, Alaska, 2015 (Photo by Brian Adams, courtesy of the Inuit Circumpolar Council)...
War in Ukraine has unleashed a tsunami of ink – about geopolitics, military alliances, weaponry, diplomacy, history. A relatively little noticed but hugely important angle is the future of the Arctic, which has eight nations, including two nuclear powers, the United States and Russia, staking a claim to portions of the vast region. Susanne Courtney introduces us to the relatively little known Arctic Council, which is sure to assume more and more importance as global warming opens up new shipping routes and facilitates the extraction of valuable natural resources. It’s never too early to be ahead of the news curve.
Exercise: Ask your students to debate the resolution: “Seven member states of the Arctic Council acted unwisely in boycotting talks with Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the fall of the Soviet Union was a catastrophe. What was the USSR, and what does Putin really want? Russian communist party supporters commemorate the death anniversary of the founder of the former Soviet Union, Vladimir...
It’s next to impossible to fathom why Russia might have invaded Ukraine without understanding the Soviet Union and Vladimir Putin’s attachment to the notion of an empire led by Moscow. Few are better placed than Julian Nundy, whose links to Ukraine go back more than half a century, to explain the complex relationship between Russia and its western neighbor. In his decoder, Nundy takes the reader from the upheaval of the Russian revolution to the collapse of the USSR and, with it, Russia’s loss of buffer states – for Putin, an intolerable affront.
Exercise: Ask your students to choose a revolution – if their country had a revolution, then that should be their focus – and to assess the good that may have come out of it, and the bad.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine begs questions that most young people have never asked. Here’s how to make sense of the conflict at the heart of Europe. A woman cries in a house crowded with people seeking shelter from Russian airstrikes, outside the capital...
Editors around the world explain how they’re helping kids to understand and cope with the news as Russia invades Ukraine. From News-O-Matic, by a reader named Derin A week before Russia invaded Ukraine, editor Joyce Grant at Canada’s Teaching Kids News conducted...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens the global order that has spared us world war. In an era of nuclear weapons, our very survival could be at risk. A body of a dead soldier lies on the ground next to Ukrainian Army soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine, 25 February 2022. (AP...
We asked News Decoder correspondents why young people should care about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Here’s what they said. An Ukrainian child stamps her painted hand on the Ukrainian flag during a protest outside the Russian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon,...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominates the news. With so much changing so rapidly, it can be difficult to get a big picture view of the context, implications and side effects of the attacks. When you live far away from the conflict, it can be difficult to know why you should care, with all the other problems in the world, and what — and who — to believe.
In this compilation, News Decoder correspondents offer different perspectives to consider about the war in Ukraine and potential consequences around the globe — and even in space. They bring decades of experience covering politics, foreign affairs and conflict — many having been based in Russia and Eastern Europe — to help place the invasion in a larger context. Their commentary provides a launching point for discussion.
Exercise: Ask students what questions they have about Ukraine and how the conflict might have an impact on your country.
Neighbors Russia and Ukraine share a common history that looms over Europe’s deepest security crisis in decades. In this image released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on 2 February 2022, Russian soldiers attend military training at the Yurginsky...
Reminiscent of tensions during the Cold War, the Ukraine crisis represents the most serious East-West confrontation since the end of the Soviet Union. A Ukrainian guard patrols the border with Russia near Hoptivka village, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, 2 February 2022. (AP...
For a deeper dive into the history leading up to the war in Ukraine, consider this report from Daniel Warner, a political scientist, lecturer and expert in international organizations. While diplomatic negotiations have failed, the article provides an overview to decode historic ties between Russia and Ukraine, NATO’s actions, the potential impact on energy supply chains and thoughts on the future of the security architecture of international alliances.
Exercise: This article was written three weeks before the conflict began. Ask students to compare the theoretical discussion of conflict to what is happening in reality. What do they think was the tipping point for Russia to invade?
Ukraine and Russia have swapped prisoners, to the chagrin of investigators exploring the downing of a passenger jet. But will the swap promote peace? Ukrainians protest against the release of Volodymyr Tsemakh, a possible witness to the downing of the MH17 Malaysia...