At least two people were killed and two injured in a massive Russian missile attack on Kyiv early this morning, with Ukrainian air defense forces claiming to have shot down more than 20 enemy targets overnight.
Last night’s “massive combined attack” on Kyiv was Russia’s most significant attack on the Ukrainian capital since last spring, with additional attacks reported in Odesa and the region of Cherkasy.
The news followed reports that at least five people had been killed and four others injured by Russian forces in the Donetsk region between Monday and Tuesday.
On the frontlines, Ukrainian forces announced they had liberated the strategic village of Robotyne in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and made advances against Russian troops around the nearby village of Verbove.
According to US-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), “heat anomalies from NASA FIRMS/VIIRS sensors” and Russian reports indicate that Ukranian forces are likely advancing against Russia on the southern front.
Today is day 553 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, Polskie Radio, euronews.com
On Tuesday, President Andrzej Duda, in the presence of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, signed a law extending the group of people entitled to free medicines to include children under 18 and seniors over 65.
The new law would amend the Act on health care services financed from public funds and the Act on the reimbursement of medicines, foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses, and medical devices.
As Duda noted in his comments, access to free medicines listed in the Ministry of Health was previously available to a limited group of people, including those aged 75 and over and pregnant women.
The new law has “significantly expanded” the number of people entitled to this benefit, which Duda estimated at approximately 16 million people, including children, youth, and seniors. The new changes, Duda continued, are “essentially family support” and a “matter of basic health security.”
According to new Minister of Health Katarzyna Sójka, “people over 65 will be able to use nearly 3,800 medicines,” and “nearly 2,800 free medicines will be available for children under 18.”
The expanded list of free products will be announced in the reimbursement notice, with separate offerings for individuals aged 65 and above and children and youth up to 18 years of age.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP
Events to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the August 1980 strikes and the historic Gdańsk Agreement will kick off today in Gdynia, with the main celebration set to take place tomorrow in Gdańsk.
The signing of the landmark Gdańsk Agreement between striking shipyard workers and the then-communist government paved the way for establishing the first independent trade union in the communist Eastern bloc. The “Solidarność” or “Solidarity” movement in Poland later became a leading force in the collapse of communist regimes throughout Europe.
Today’s festivities will kick off at 15:00 in Gdynia with a holy mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, followed by the memorial service at the
Monument to the Victims of December 1970. A series of concerts, volunteer appreciation events, and awards for the “Heroes of August ’80” will follow the service, with the band “Sonanto” set to close out the evening with a concert entitled “Polish Roads to Freedom.”
On August 31, the official anniversary of the signing of the history Gdańsk Agreements, a series of events organized by the local and national branches of the “Solidarity” trade union will take place in the historic BHP Hall starting at 10:00, with other commemorations set for sites around Gdańsk, including the memorial to Anna Walentynowicz in Wrzeszcz and the Monument to Pope John Paul II and US President Ronald Reagan in Przymorze.
The main “Solidarity” celebration will be held at 16:00 at Plac Solidarności in Gdańsk, ending with the laying of flowers near Gate number two of the Gdańsk Shipyard and a march to the Basilica of Saint Bridget, where a solemn mass will be celebrated at 17:00.
The full list of events available at: https://radiogdansk.pl/wiadomosci/region/trojmiasto/2023/08/28/swieto-solidarnosci-w-rocznice-historycznych-strajkow-harmonogram-obchodow/
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Polish tennis star Hubert Hurkacz advanced to the second round of the US Open tennis tournament in New York last night.
The 17th-ranked Pole beat Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Hüsler in a hard-fought five sets (4-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-1) and will face the UK’s Jack Draper Thursday evening.
On the women’s side, Iga Świątek will kick off the next round of matches starting at 18:15 CEST tonight, followed by Magdalena Fręch at 19:00 and Magda Linette at midnight.
Source: Polskie Radio, wtatennis.com, atptour.com
The Polish women’s volleyball team will take on Türkiye tonight in the quarterfinals of the EuroVolley tournament in Brussels.
The match is set for 17:00 CEST.
Source: eurovolley.cev.eu
An unusual supermoon will be visible in the skies above Poland tonight, the second full moon of the month and an example of the “blue moon” phenomenon.
According to astronomers, the large orange supermoon, which occurs when the moon is extremely close to Earth, will rise opposite the setting sun tonight and should be visible all night unless obscured by clouds.
Source: PAP
Weather
Today will be mostly cloudy, with a chance of rain throughout the day and a light breeze coming from the northwest. Temperatures will stay on the cooler side, with an afternoon high of 19°C or 66°F, dropping to a low of 14°C or 57°F overnight. Similar weather is expected tomorrow, with a chance for rain showers continuing into Thursday.
Elizabeth Peck
