Poland is set to buy 250 modern US tanks as part of a multibillion deal with Washington, officials said on Wednesday.
“Of course, this is a response to the challenges we face in terms of international security”, Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak told a press conference. Our task is to deter a potential aggressor”, he said. “We all know who that aggressor is”.
Błaszczak added that the PLN 23.3 billion (USD 6 bn, EUR 5 bn) deal includes Abrams tanks and a training and logistics package as well as ammunition.
The first deliveries are expected next year.
Last year, Poland inked a USD 4.6 billion contract to buy 32 F-35A combat aircraft from the United States.
Polskie Radio
New Restrictions for Arrivals from Belarus in Lithuania
Lithuania has voted in favour of strict new migration laws amid an influx of arrivals from Belarus. Politicians backed the controversial legislation on Tuesday, allowing the mass detention of migrants and limiting their right to appeal.
It comes as hundreds of migrants have illegally crossed into Lithuania from Belarus in recent weeks. Lithuania accuses Belarus of flying in foreign migrants who then head to the border, a claim Belarus denies.
More than 1,700 people have been detained at Lithuania’s border this year. The EU country has deployed troops and begun building a 550-km (340-mile) razor wire fence along the border with Belarus, which is not a member of the bloc.
Relations between the two countries worsened in 2020 after President Alexander Lukashenko won disputed elections and launched a violent crackdown on demonstrators.
BBC
Covid Numbers Continue to Decline in Poland
Poland has reported 86 new coronavirus infections and six more deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total number of cases during the pandemic to 2,881,046 and fatalities to 75,179.
Of the new cases confirmed on Wednesday, the most—15—were in the western province of Wielkopolskie, which is home to the major city of Poznań.
The latest deaths in Poland’s coronavirus outbreak are three people with pre-existing medical conditions and three who died directly because of COVID-19, the health ministry said.
On Tuesday, Poland confirmed 13 deaths and 96 new coronavirus infections nationwide, compared with no new deaths and 76 fresh cases a day earlier. These recent figures are further proof that the epidemic is ebbing in the country, officials have said.
Poland is currently considered a strong candidate to be added to the UK’s Green List for travelling.
Polskie Radio
High Sea Piracy on the Motława river in Gdansk
The Black Pearl – a well-known tourist pirate ship has collided with a dredger on the Motława River. Seven people were slightly injured, two mariners have been detained. In true pirate style, the skipper and a mechanic from the first ship, were working on board despite drinking alcohol earlier.
It is not known yet how the collision happened. Determining the causes of the event is underway. The incident was attended by police both from the water and land as well as the road traffic department.
It is still unknown which crew caused this accident. The arrested parties will be questioned after sobering up – probably on Thursday.
Radio Gdansk
Weather
Today will be sunny, very warm and humid with thunderstorms expected later this afternoon. Top temperatures 30 degreed Celsius 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
