US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a surprise visit to Kyiv yesterday to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In her remarks, Pelosi expressed support for Ukraine’s need for more military, economic, and humanitarian aid “to address the devastating human toll taken on the Ukrainian people by (President Vladimir) Putin’s diabolic invasion.”

Last Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced he would seek Congressional approval for an additional $33 billion aid package for Ukraine, which Pelosi indicated she hoped to move through Congress as quickly as possible.

Pelosi is the highest-ranking US elected official to visit Kyiv since the war began, a sign of “a deepening US commitment to Ukraine.” Her visit comes one week after a similar visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Pelosi and a delegation of other US lawmakers are set to visit Poland today for meetings with President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials.

Source: Radio Poland, New York Times

Commemorations are taking place across Poland to mark the 40th anniversary of protests against martial law and Poland’s communist regime.

On May 1 and 3, 1982, protests against martial law or “stan wojenny” took place in cities across Poland. Tens of thousands of people gathered at the foot of the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers in Gdańsk on May 1, one of the largest demonstrations in Poland during the period of martial law.

On the following Constitution Day, a holiday not recognized by the ruling communist authorities, violent clashes resulted in the death of two people.

The brutal suppression of the protests showed the determination of the communist authorities and their reluctance to make any compromises. The events revitalized the underground “Solidarity” movement and served as a catalyst for the radical student organization “Fighting Solidarity.”

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki celebrated the 18th anniversary of Poland’s EU accession in posts on social media yesterday, calling it “the dream of generations of Poles.”

Morawiekcie went on to stress the importance of “defend[ing] this dream for future generations,” with Poland’s Ministry of Diplomacy reminding Poles that “Europe will not be complete until all countries wishing to join the EU have such an opportunity.”

According to a report by the Polish Economic Institute, GDP per capita in Poland has increased in real terms by 85% since EU accession. Additionally, the average annual economic growth rate has increased by 1.04 percentage points due to accession, while the inflow of foreign direct investment and the value of exports has increased by 4.07% and 3.2%, respectively.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Guitarists in Poland set a new Guinness world record yesterday after 7,676 musicians gathered in Wrocław to play Jimi Hendrix’s hit “Hey Joe” during the annual “Thanks Jimi” Festival.

The first “Thanks Jimi” Festival in 2003 was organized by Polish musician Leszek Cichoński and featured a group of 588 guitarists. Since then, the festival has grown to accommodate thousands of guitarists, with past guest musicians including American virtuosos Scott Henderson, LeBrun Maddox, and Kenny CarrHenderson, along with bands like Dire Straits and Status Quo.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

Radio Gdańsk and the Museum of the Second World War have partnered to host the “Lost Culture Festival,” which premiered over the weekend and will continue tomorrow.

The “Festiwal Kultury Utraconej” is a new initiative to promote artistic works from Poland’s interwar period and artists whose lives and livelihoods were cut short by the Nazi German invasion of 1939.

Throughout May, the Museum of the Second World War will host a series of concerts, theater performances, lectures, and a radio play. The second event in the series will take place Tuesday at 19:00. The RENEW concert will feature the songs of Marian Hemar, a lyrical poet, playwright, and author of over three thousand songs.

More information on tomorrow’s concert and the Lost Culture Festival can be found on the festival website at https://festiwalkulturyutraconej.pl.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be mostly sunny and clear with a gentle breeze coming in from the north and east. Temperatures will be slightly warmer than yesterday, with a high around 14°C, or 58°F, dropping to an overnight low of 6°C or 42°F. Clouds will return tomorrow, accompanied by an increasing chance of rain midday and a chance for additional sun returning on the May 3 holiday.

EPeck