NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius have reaffirmed that “Ukraine will become a member” of the alliance and will not be required to complete a Membership Action Plan to do so.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement yesterday after the summit’s first working session, a meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government, which included Polish President Andrzej Duda.
According to Stoltenberg, NATO’s package “bringing Ukraine closer” to the alliance consisted of a multi-year assistance program “to facilitate the transition of the Ukrainian armed forces from Soviet-era to NATO standards;” the establishment of a new NATO-Ukraine Council; and a reaffirmation that “Ukraine will become a member of NATO.”
Stoltenberg went on to stress that the proposal represented “a strong package for Ukraine. And a clear path towards its membership in NATO…. There has never been a stronger message from NATO at any time.”
The NATO chief also hailed Finland’s recent accession and Sweden’s upcoming entry as “historic” and “in particular important for the Baltic region.”
The NATO Summit is due to wrap up today in Vilnius.
Source: Polskie Radio, PAP
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has emphasized the need for additional work on Polish-Ukrainian relations around the subject of the WW2-era Volhynia Massacres.
Morawieckie spoke during commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the World War II killings of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists in Volhynia, a historic region that included southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and western Ukraine.
The Volhynia Massacres were carried out between February 1943 and the spring of 1945 by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in Nazi-German-occupied Poland, according to Poland’s National Institute of Remembrance (IPN). Some 100,000 ethnic Poles in total were slaughtered in the 1940s by Ukrainian forces, according to some estimates.
During his comments, Morawiecki described the Volhynia Massacres as “horrific genocide” and said that “there won’t be a full Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation without finding and honoring the remains of all the victims.”
He then appealed directly to Ukrainians who, because of the ongoing war in their country, “realize better than before how important it is for us to find every burial place, to find all the remains, to bury them in a Christian way, to plant a cross, to light a candle, to say a prayer.”
“We Polish people won’t rest,” Morawiecki vowed, “until the last remains have been found, and so it’s not only a matter for Poland but also for Ukraine.”
Source: Polskie Radio, Radio Gdańsk
Polish tennis star Iga Świątek was knocked out of Wimbledon yesterday after losing her quarterfinal match in three sets to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
The Polish world No. 1 was defeated 5-7, 7-6(5), 2-6 by Ukraine’s former World No.3 on Wimbledon’s center court yesterday afternoon.
Świątek said afterward she was satisfied with her performance, which propelled her to her first-ever appearance in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
She also told reporters she would be rooting for her Svitolina from now on, as “having a Grand Slam title would be pretty amazing for her. She’s coming back after becoming a mother… I told her on the net that I hope she wins this tournament.”
Svitolina is due to face Markéta Vondroušová of the Czech Republic in the Wimbledon semifinals tomorrow.
Source: Polskie Radio, wtatennis.com, Reuters
Lovers of photography and old cameras are encouraged to take advantage of the “Cameras- Made in Poland” exhibition currently on display at the Hevelianum Center in Gdańsk.
A wide range of cameras made in Poland are included in the exhibit, along with traditional darkroom equipment, projectors, and other devices used for capturing images.
Models on display include cameras from different periods, like the Druh, Start, and Ami models, and a wooden camera with an amber lens, the only one of its kind. The wood and amber camera is a creation of Marek Mazur, who also designed mini cameras that can be cleverly hidden in pins or brooches.
The exhibit also includes lenses made by master craftsman Adam Prażmowski, who immigrated to Paris following the January Uprising and became a well-known lensmaker there.
Much of the unique collection is on display courtesy of owner Grzegorz Mehring, a photographer from Gdańsk. Mehring himself offers a guided tour of the collection every Wednesday at 17:00.
The “Cameras- Made in Poland” exhibit will be on display until September 3.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be mostly cloudy with a good chance of rain throughout the afternoon, accompanied by strong breezes from the south and west. Temperatures will be noticeably warmer than yesterday, with a daytime high of 26°C or 79°F, dropping to a low of 15°C or 59°F overnight. Slightly cooler weather is expected tomorrow, with skies clearing overnight and a chance for rain returning on Friday.
Elizabeth Peck/vn
