Polish and Lithuanian officials paid tribute yesterday to Polish and American war hero Tadeusz Kościuszko on the 275th anniversary of his birth.
Kościuszko famously led the first Polish national uprising against the Russian Empire in 1794 after serving as a colonel in the American War of Independence. US founding father Thomas Jefferson, who was close friends with Kościuszko, famously described the Polish-Lithuanian engineer as “the purest son of liberty … that I have ever known, the kind of liberty which extends to all, not only to the rich.”
In a joint statement adopted yesterday, the foreign affairs committees of both the Polish and Lithuanian parliaments used the occasion to highlight Kościuszko’s continuing importance to the people of Belarus, who are currently being “persecuted for demanding the right to [the] fundamental civil liberties,” Kościuszko held dear, including, above all, free and fair elections.”
Poland’s foreign ministry has welcomed a decision by the United States and Russia to extend the New START arms control treaty, which was due to expire on Friday.
The United States and Russia said on Wednesday they had extended New START for five years, preserving provisions of the previous treaty limiting deployments of the world’s two largest strategic nuclear arsenals.
The pact was extended to Feb. 5, 2026, despite a continuing bilateral dispute over Russia’s jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, alleged cyber hacking of US government agencies, and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Polish mountaineer Magdalena Gorzkowska has been forced to abort her attempted winter ascent of K2 after coming down with severe food poisoning.
As reported by Pakistani journalist Jamil Nagri on Twitter and later confirmed by expedition sponsor Wojciech Kądziołka, Gorzkowska was evacuated by helicopter Thursday morning to a hospital in Skardu, Pakistan.
Gorzkowska later posted on Instagram that she was feeling better and had an appetite for the first time in five days. In response to questions regarding her failed summit attempt, Gorzkowska wrote that she “did [her] best…I couldn’t do anything more during this trip.”
As the world’s second tallest mountain, K2 remains one of the last great challenges in the world of high-altitude mountaineering.
The Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia will be hosting an unusual celebration today to mark the graduation of 15 students from Saudi Arabia, a first in the Academy’s history.
According to Commander Wojciech Mundt, the Saudi graduates studied at the Faculty of Navigation and Ship Armament, gaining knowledge and essential skills that will enable them to serve their home country.
Since 2015, 62 graduates from Persian Gulf countries like Qatar and Kuwait have studied at the Naval Academy. While courses are taught in English, international students are taught Polish regulations and commands, along with Polish language, culture, and history.
Today’s ceremonies, which will feature the national anthems of the Republic of Poland and Saudi Arabia, can be watched live online on the Polish Naval Academy’s YouTube channel beginning at 11:30.
Weather
Today will be partly sunny but cold, with a light breeze coming in from the northwest and little chance of snow during the day. Temperatures will remain below freezing, with a high of -1°C, or 30°F, dropping to a chilly -7°C or 19°F overnight. Similar sunny but cold weather is expected through the weekend, with a chance for more snow returning next week.
Elizabeth Peck/ako
