US President Joe Biden has said that he would station more troops in Poland if Russia were to invade Ukraine. The comments came as Russia continues its build up of troops on its border with Ukraine and the world waits to see what it will do next. Earlier this week, the US president appeared to endorse a small Russian incursion into Ukraine, saying “What you’re going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades and it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion” a position which was quickly backtracked by his advisers and condemned by the Ukrainian president. On the troop situation Biden said that there were no plans to permanently station troops in former Soviet Bloc states.
Source – Polskie Radio
Polish and Czech ministers are continuing in their efforts to resolve a dispute over a coal mine near the border between the two countries.
The long running dispute has also seen the involvement of the European Commission as it levied fines of 500,000 euros per day on Poland in an attempt to get it to bow to the will of the EU and close the mine. The Czech Republic has said that the mine is draining groundwater away from surrounding areas and harming Czech citizens. Earlier this week the Polish foreign minister said that a proposal to resolve the dispute had been given to the Czech side who she hoped would approve it, clearing the way for a resolution of the dispute.
Source – Polskie Radio
Poland’s state railway operator has accused its Ukrainian counterpart of blocking rail shipments between the two countries in a ratcheting up of rhetoric between the two countries’ rail transport authorities.
Rail shipments between Ukraine and Poland have been effectively banned since mid November in a move that the Ukrainian side is caused by needed upgrades to the Ukrainian rail infrastructure. The ban affects goods travelling into Poland from China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and is having a significant impact. The Polish side has said it believes that there may be a political motive behind the situation.
Source – railfreight.com, The First News
And finally, a local man has been apprehended after a week of being on the run from police.
A week ago the man had been pursued by police in a stolen car which he used to ram them before crashing the vehicle into a tree and then running off into woodland. During the pursuit shots were fired and drugs and money were recovered from the vehicle. The address of the 23 year old and his known haunts were put under surveillance and then yesterday he was apprehended whilst on board a local bus. The apprehension proceeded without any struggle from the man. He faces up to 10 years in prison for his actions.
Source – Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be a cloudy and windy day with temperatures of 1 degrees centigrade (34 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and -1 degree overnight. Winds will ease off tomorrow but it will remain cloudy with temperatures of 2 degrees during the day and -2 degrees overnight.
Martin Caren/ua
