Russian intelligence agencies paid Afghan Taliban militants to attack British and US soldiers in Afghanistan, that’s according to new reports in three major US newspapers.
The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal cited unnamed US officials saying Russian agents secretly put a bounty on coalition soldiers deployed in Afghanistan in 2019. Both Russia and the Taliban deny the allegations.
In the US, there’s growing controversy over claims President Trump knew about the bounties and failed to act. According to new reports by the New York Times the president received a written briefing earlier this year.
Mr Trump says he was never personally briefed because officials were not certain about the facts. He denies he had any knowledge of the intelligence.
The GRU, Russia’s secret intelligence service, is reportedly behind the bounties. The GRU has previously been accused of interfering with the 2016 US election and is thought to be responsible for the 2018 assassination of a Russian defector in the UK.
In Poland, campaigning is once again underway ahead of the second round of the presidential election and both candidates have been heading to our region.
Presidential hopefuls Rafał Trzaskowski and Andrzej Duda both stopped by Pomerania. Incumbent president Duda, looking for a second term, spoke to crowds in Starogard Gdański. Meanwhile, opposition candidate and Warsaw Mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, headed to the Kashubian towns of Kościerzyna and Kartuzy where he addressed supporters and met with Gdansk Mayor, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz.
Both candidates are working flat-out to win support ahead of a decisive vote on July 12th to chose Poland’s next president. The two candidates are currently polling neck and neck around 50%.
British soldiers deployed in Poland have been training and swapping skills with their Polish allies.
Last month, a handful of soldiers from the UK’s Light Dragoon cavalry regiment as well as gunners from the Royal Air Force, were given the opportunity to learn skills of Close Quarters Combat and hand-to-hand fighting from the Polish Army.
The Brits got to grips with urban combat, building clearing, and even knife fighting.
The British troops are stationed in Poland as part of an ongoing Nato deployment together with mainly US, Croatian, and Romanian troops.
More international flights to and from Poland have resumed today as Covid-19 lockdown measures are gradually eased.
International flights have now resumed to most European countries as well as a number of non-EU countries which have been deemed low-risk.
From today, flights are once again running to Ukraine, Canada, and the UK among others. Flights to Portugal and Sweden and most non-European countries remain suspended, however.
At Gdansk Airport, construction has started on an extensive new office complex.
Ground was broken on the first part of the Airport City complex late last month. The building, named „Alpha”, is to be the first of 8 buildings, each named after a letter of the phonetic alphabet.
Due to be completed in 2021, Alpha will house six floors of office space as well as retail and gastronomy spaces and a hotel.
Weather:
Mostly cloudy today with a chance of some rain in the afternoon. Temperatures up to 21°C, that’s 70°F. Feeling cool today with a moderate wind. A good chance of rain tomorrow morning but brightening up later in the day.
Radio Gdańsk News/TAH/am
