Wagner mercenaries have aborted their steady march to Moscow, while Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will flee to neighboring Belarus to “avoid bloodshed”.
After capturing the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, Wagner PMC forces were reportedly within some 200km from Moscow when Prigozhin announced that the operation to “restore justice” within Russia’s armed forces had been halted.
In an audio recording on Telegram, Prigozhin said he sought to avoid a situation where “Russian blood will be spilled on one side”, thus Wagner forces would be “turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned”.
The decision allegedly came following talks between Prigozhin and Belarusian autocrat Aleksandr Lukashenko in consultation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After consulting with Lukashenko, Prigozhin reportedly agreed to stop the Wagner advance on Moscow in exchange for safety guarantees for him and his fighters. Under the deal, Prigozhin will leave Russia for neighboring Belarus and any criminal charges against him and other Wagner mercenaries will be dropped.
According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, the deal achieved Putin’s “highest goal… to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results”.
Source: Polskie Radio, Reuters, Euronews
The European Union announced on Friday that it had formally adopted an 11th package of sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
The new sanctions are designed mainly to ensure that Russia is not circumventing existing punitive measures via third countries, a major concern of EU member states like Poland.
According to EU officials, the latest package includes a ban on “the transit via the territory of Russia of more goods and technology” exported from the EU to third countries, which “may contribute to Russia’s military and technological enhancement”.
The new sanctions package expands the list of restricted items that “could contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia’s defense and security sector”, such as circuit boards, semiconductor materials, and optical components.
In a move advocated by Poland, the EU extended a ban on “the transport of goods into the EU by road” to cover “trailers and semi-trailers registered in Russia, including when hauled by trucks registered outside of Russia”. The EU also extended its ban on importing oil from Russia through the northern section of the Druzhba pipeline.
An additional 87 entities, including four Iranian entities, will be subject to the new sanctions, along with five Russian media outlets: RT Balkan, Oriental Review, Tsargrad, New Eastern Outlook, and Katehon.
Today is day 487 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Source: Polskie Radio, Reuters
Gdańsk transit officials have announced a new holiday timetable for trams and buses as the Polish school year officially comes to a close.
The modified timetable will reduce frequencies for some bus and tram lines while introducing special holiday routes, including more convenient connections to popular beaches around Gdańsk.
Bus lines 127, 162, 199, and 269 will operate less frequently on weekdays, per the normal “holiday” timetable. Line 606 from Wały Piastowskie to Westerplatte will offer more frequent services, while line 658 from Polsat Plus Arena will now also run on weekends and be equipped to transport bicycles. A new bus line, number 607, will also be launched between Pruszcz Gdański and Wyspa Sobieszewska.
Tram services will also be adjusted, with revised timetables for lines 3, 6, 8 and 9. Two seasonal tram lines will be introduced: line 63, connecting Łostowice Świętokrzyska and Plaża Brzeźno, and line 88 from Brętowo PKM to Plaża Stogi.
The new schedule will remain in effect from 24 June to 3 September.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Over the weekend, Polish athletes continued to help push their country to the top 5 of the medals table at the 2023 European Games in southern Poland.
Last Thursday, Natalia Kałucka won the women’s speed climbing competition in Tarnów, with fellow Pole Aleksandra Mirosław in second and Marcin Dzieński taking home the bronze in the men’s event the following day.
On Friday, Michał Bąbos won a bronze medal in men’s karate kumite 84 kg in Bielsko-Biała, bringing Poland’s total medal count to 12 – six gold, two silver, and four bronze.
Some 7,000 athletes from 48 countries, including 370 from Poland, are currently vying for medals at the 3rd European Games, which opened in Kraków last Wednesday and will run until July 2.
Source: Polskie Radio
Weather
Today will be mostly sunny, with very little chance of rain and a light breeze coming in from the northeast. Temperatures will be slightly warmer than yesterday, with a daytime high of 23°C or 74°F, dropping to a low of 13°C or 55°F overnight. Even warmer weather is expected tomorrow, with a chance for some rain returning midweek.
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