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The war in Ukraine is about Russian mythology — the notion of reuniting two peoples with a long, viscerally complicated relationship going back centuries — and outdated ideas about spheres of influence. 

It could be about empire building, or rebuilding, depending on how you want to interpret your history and what text you use as a guide to explain Moscow's attempt to subjugate an independent nation of 44 million souls.

And that may very well be.

There is, however, a cold, hard, underappreciated calculation, one that —  depending upon how the war ends — has the potential to secure either Ukraine or Russia's economic future for the next century. 

If you take a map of the areas occupied or being fought over by Russian forces and then transpose it to a resource map of Ukraine, you begin to understand what it is at stake beyond hazy cultural delusions and dreams of empire.

The eastern Donbas region, where most of the fighting has taken place over the last eight years, is often referred to as the industrial heartland of Ukraine. Rich in coal, it has helped fire the steel plants, foundries and electric generators of the country for a century, or more.

It is more than that, though.

Ukraine has the potential to become a "critical mineral superpower," according to a recent evaluation by SecDev, an Ottawa-based research and analysis think-tank. 

The country ranks fourth globally in terms of total assessed value of natural resources, with roughly $15 billion in annual output and a potential "assessed value [that] could be as high as $7.5 trillion," according to the report.

Beyond that, Ukraine is thought to have the largest supply of recoverable rare earth resources in Europe, although much of it is undeveloped. Rare earth minerals (cerium, yttrium, lanthanum and neodymium) and alloys are used in many devices people use every day, such as computer memory, rechargeable batteries, cellphones and much more. Read the full story here.

A row of hand-painted life-sized sculptures of Corgi dogs, some of the 50 decorated by local artists that will go on display in Altrincham, England, as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth, who has owned at least 30 corgis during her reign. The Jubilee celebrations will take place June 2 to 5 to mark Elizabeth's 70 years on the throne. 

In a ruling that could set a sentencing benchmark for the most serious crimes in the country, the Supreme Court of Canada is set to announce the number of years the gunman who killed six people in a Quebec City mosque will have to spend in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Alexandre Bissonnette pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder for his attack on worshippers at the Islamic Cultural Centre on Jan. 29, 2017. In deciding the minimum number of years Bissonnette should spend in prison before he is eligible for parole, the Supreme Court of Canada examined the constitutionality of a sentencing provision introduced in 2011 by Stephen Harper's Conservative government. That provision gave judges discretionary powers to hand out consecutive blocks of parole ineligibility periods for multiple first-degree murders. Initially, Bissonnette was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 40 years — the longest period of parole ineligibility ever imposed in Quebec. That decision was overturned in November 2020 by the Quebec Court of Appeal, which cut Bissonnette's wait for parole eligibility to 25 years. Crown prosecutors are now asking that Bissonnette wait 50 years before being eligible for parole. Read more on this story here.  Federal health officials are strategically positioning vaccine doses for monkeypox across the country in response to a growing number of cases, the deputy chief public health officer said Thursday. Dr. Howard Njoo told a news conference that there are now 26 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Canada — 25 in Quebec and one in Ontario. The virus can cause a rash, fatigue, muscle aches, fever and headache. It's often spread by close contact with an infected person — especially an exchange of bodily fluids — but also can be spread through the air or on surfaces. Njoo said that while the risk of infection for the general population is low, health officials are monitoring the virus closely and want to be able to deploy vaccines quickly in response to outbreaks. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has sent 1,000 doses of the IMVAMUNE vaccine to Quebec already, as well as a supply of the antiviral drug Tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX. Njoo did not say how many vaccine doses have been sent to other provinces. He said PHAC is working with provinces and territories to determine their needs. Njoo also said PHAC does not see the need for a mass vaccination campaign right now. Read the full story here.

The concept of red flag laws seem to be gaining some traction in the United States following the two deadly shooting rampages in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas. Yet just how effective these laws can be, and their effect on preventing other mass shootings, remains unclear. A red flag law is more formally known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO). These orders, handed down by a judge or police, can temporarily restrict firearm access to individuals who are believed to present a risk of violence — either to themselves or against other persons. The idea behind such laws is that, according to some research, mass shooters have often displayed a series of concerning behaviours before their attacks. The laws, depending on the state, allow for a range of people — including families, household members, community members, or law enforcement officers — to petition a court directly for an ERPO, according to the Giffords Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence. What defines a "red flag" behaviour varies from state to state, and each uses different formulations to ultimately approve an ERPO, said Dr. Mark Rosenberg, founding director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. "Basically there has to be credible evidence that this person is very likely to hurt themselves or another," he said. Read more here. 

Edmonton won the Battle of Alberta Thursday night as Connor McDavid's overtime winner gave the Oilers a 4-1 series win over the Calgary Flames. Just over five minutes into overtime, McDavid took a pass from Leon Draisaitl and fired his seventh goal of the post-season past Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom to win the game 5-4. Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists, while Darnell Nurse, Jesse Puljujarvi and Evan Bouchard also scored for Edmonton. Draisaitl had four assists on the night. The Oilers will meet the winner of the Colorado-St. Louis series in the Western Conference final. Read more here about Edmonton's win.

Spring cleaning season is here, but before you start asking if your household items spark joy, some environmentalists want you to ask if your decluttering binge is just adding to the global waste problem. "The reality is that most of the stuff that we get rid of in Canada goes to landfill," said Myra Hird, a professor at the school of environmental studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and author of Canada's Waste Flows. "Many people think that consuming is OK so long as we 'give away' what we no longer want." Numerous studies have shown the mental health benefits of organizing and simplifying your space, and the urge to purge has only grown during the pandemic, when being stuck at home has pushed many of us to reckon with our immediate surroundings. But the problem is all that stuff has to end up somewhere — and often, it's the landfill. Read more on this story here.  Now for some good news to start your Friday: The hairdryer and hair clippers that Serhii Firsikov brought from Ukraine don't plug in to the sockets at his new chair at Fogtown Barber Shop in downtown St. John's. But his scissors and combs — and his personal style — fit right in. "Everyone has a lot of tattoos. [I like] such an atmosphere," said Firsikov. On their first walk around downtown St. John's, Firsikov and his wife — who arrived in the city on May 9 aboard a flight the Newfoundland and Labrador government chartered for Ukrainian refugees — spotted the shop's barber pole. When he wandered in, he instantly loved what he saw. Fogtown co-owner Chris Evans was sitting behind the desk on a rare break when Firsikov — who arrived in the city with a "bag of clothes and his [hair cutting] tools" —  walked in. After introducing himself as a Ukrainian barber looking for work, Chris's response was quick. "I said, 'Yeah, let's figure something out.'" Two days later, Firsikov was fully booked up for his first day on the job. "He's crushing it," said Evans. Read about the Ukrainian barber.

Ukraine's Donbas region has traditionally been a stronghold of pro-Russian support, but after months of war in its backyard, that once-unassailable loyalty to Russia in the east could be starting to dissipate.  This week, we head back to the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia war and explore why some Ukrainians who once dreamed of a Russian-backed future are changing their minds.

1938: Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King tells the House of Commons that the government plans to nationalize the Bank of Canada, which at the time was privately owned. 1968: Montreal is awarded a National League baseball franchise at a cost of $10 million. The Expos began playing in April 1969. The franchise moved to Washington for the start of the 2005 season.  1993: On the strength of  Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Tory majority, the House of Commons passes legislation bringing Canada into the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement. The trade agreement didn't come into force until after the Liberals under Jean Chrétien won the October 1993 election. 2009: Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk blasts off aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin a six-month visit to the International Space Station, a record for a Canadian.

With files from The Canadian Press, The Associated Press and Reuters

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