US President Joe Biden arrived safely in Poland by train last night after making a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday.

The train carrying Biden from the Ukrainian capital arrived in the Polish city of Przemyśl at around 20:30 CET on Monday.

In an apparent show of US support for Ukraine amidst the ongoing Russian invasion, President Biden spent the day with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, walking with him through the streets of Kyiv as air raid sirens sounded across the city.

While in Kyiv, Biden announced an additional USD 500 million in military aid to Ukraine, which will include artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars, according to reports from Reuters.

Biden was scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda this morning before delivering a scheduled speech at 17:30 Tuesday evening in the gardens of Warsaw’s Royal Castle.

While in Poland, Biden is also set to attend a summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) countries from NATO’s eastern flank and hold talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Source: Polskie Radio, Radio Gdańsk, Reuters

Belarus has moved to expel three Polish diplomats amid rising tensions between Warsaw and Minsk following the recent sentencing of Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut.

Łukasz Jasina, a spokesman for the Polish foreign ministry, was quoted by Reuters on Monday describing the three diplomats as “two consuls from Grodno and the go-between of the Polish Border Guard in Minsk.”

According to Jasina, the diplomats “have to leave Belarus by the end of the day on Wednesday, adding that Poland is “thinking about a good and proper response” to the situation.

Earlier this month, a Belarusian court sentenced journalist Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison in what the Polish government called a politically-motivated trial. In response, Poland closed a key Polish-Belarusian border crossing in Bobrowniki the following day, provoking the ire of the Belarusian government and its leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Source: Polskie Radio

Employment in Polish companies rose by an average of 1.1 percent in January in year-on-year terms, according to figures released yesterday by Poland’s national statistics office.

GUS figures released on Monday show that the average wages in Poland’s corporate sector increased by 13.5 percent in January compared with the same month a year earlier.

The average gross monthly salary in Poland for January was PLN 6,883.96 (EUR 1,450, USD 1,550) for those working in companies with more than nine employees.

Earlier this month, Poland’s labor ministry estimated that the country’s unemployment rate inched up by 0.3 percentage points to 5.5 percent in January.

According to government statistics, an estimated 858,700 people in Poland were without jobs at the end of January, 68,400 less than the same period a year earlier.

Source: Polskie Radio

Radio Gdańsk is looking for folk musicians and artists from Pomerania to participate in the second edition of the national “Jawor” culture competition.

Candidates for the “Jawor – at the source of culture” award can apply in three categories: as a vocal or instrumental soloist, as part of a “folk ensemble” which includes bands, children’s and youth groups, or as a creator of “handicrafts and folk art.”

Winners in the “soloist” and “folk ensemble” categories will have the chance to perform and record in the Janusz Hajdun Concert Studio at Radio Gdańsk, while the winner in the „handicraft and folk art” category will be given the opportunity to present their work during a special exhibition.

Winners of the “folk ensemble” and “folk art” categories will also go on to represent the region of Pomorskie during a nationwide final organized by Radio Kielce.

The national finals for the “Jawor” competition will take place June 17-18 at the Museum of the Kielce Countryside in Tokarnia. Expenses for the trip, including travel and accommodation, will be covered by Radio Gdańsk.

Applications can be submitted to jawor@radiogdansk.pl until March 31, 2023.

More information on the competition is available here.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and a strong breeze coming in from the northwest. Temperatures will peak around a high of 7°C, or 45°F in the early afternoon before dropping to a low of 0°C or 32°F overnight. Colder temperatures and less wind are expected for tomorrow, with a chance for rain returning on Thursday.

Listen to the broadcast:

Elizabeth Peck/ol