Poland has called on its eastern neighbour Belarus to „cease all provocations” at the shared border after it said two Belarusian military helicopters breached Polish airspace earlier this week.

The Polish foreign ministry said in a statement that the Polish embassy in Minsk on Friday provided the Belarusian government „with detailed information that irrefutably confirms the fact that on 1 August 2023 two Belarusian military helicopters violated Polish airspace.”.

Meanwhile, the Polish and Lithuanian interior ministers on Friday discussed plans for a possible closure of all border crossings with Belarus in response to „emerging threats” from that country and potential „future provocations at the border,” according to a statement by the Polish government.

Source – Polskie Radio

The European Union’s executive has said it has approved a Polish plan to offer around EUR 176 million worth of state aid to agricultural companies affected by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The European Commission said on Friday it had approved „an approximately EUR 176 million (PLN 780 million) Polish scheme to support companies in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.” The EU executive added that the support would „take the form of subsidies on loan interest rates” and „be available to companies active in the trading or purchasing of cereals, trading of agricultural plant seeds, or the purchasing or freezing of soft fruit.”

According to the European Commission’s statement, the measure aims to provide assistance to companies „facing liquidity shortages caused by the current geopolitical crisis.”

Source – Polskie Radio

Slovenian rider Matej Mohorič won this year’s Tour de Pologne, Poland’s largest cycling race, as he kept the overall lead after the event’s final stage on Friday.

The 28-year-old, who rides for the Bahrain-Victorious cycling team, beat Portugal’s João Almeida by 1 second overall in the seven-stage 1,130 km race.

Polish cyclist Michał Kwiatkowski placed third in the final standings, 17 seconds behind Mohorič.

Source – Polskie Radio

And finally, the Polish president, Andrzej Duda has visited Gdynia as Russia conducts naval exercises in the Baltic Sea. The president was visiting the Maritime Operations Centre.

The Russian exercises consist of 30 vessels from the Russian Navy, 30 military aircraft and 6,000 military personnel, mainly sailors.

While at the centre the president noted that Poland is in the process of modernizing its own navy.

Initially, the visit to the Navy in Gdynia was planned for Thursday, but it was cancelled due to weather conditions – a storm passed over the sea, the crew made several approaches to land, but the pilot decided to return to Warsaw.

Source – Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be turn rainy in a gentle breeze, with temperatures of 21 degrees centigrade (70 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 14 degrees overnight. Tomorrow will start rainy, becoming showery later with thunderstorms in a moderate breeze and temperatures of 22 degrees during the day and 13 degrees overnight.

Listen to the broadcast:

Martin Caren/ol