Top Polish officials were in Italy yesterday to pay tribute to soldiers who fought and died in the bloody battle to capture Monte Cassino during World War II.

Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Gliński and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak were among those who traveled to the historic site some 130 kilometers southeast of Rome to honor Polish soldiers killed in the 1944 battle.

Under the command of General Władysław Anders, the 2nd Polish Corps captured Monte Cassino on May 18, 1944, after 123 days of fierce fighting. The victory opened the way for Allied troops to gain access to Rome but came at a significant cost in human lives.

Some 55,000 Allied soldiers, including over 1000 Poles, were killed in the assault. An estimated 20,000 Nazi German soldiers were also killed or wounded during the battle.

Defense Minister Błaszczak told those at the ceremony that the heroes of the Battle of Monte Cassino were “role models for all Poles, and especially for Polish Army soldiers today.”

Deputy Prime Minister Gliński later added that these such soldiers “gave their lives not only for Poland but for all of Europe.”

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

Polish officials visited the Vatican yesterday to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the birth of Karol Wojtyła, better known as Pope John Paul II.

The officials laid flowers at the tomb of Saint John Paul II in the Vatican Basilica before attending a special Mass in his honor. During the service, Pope Francis described Jan Paweł II as “a man who wanted social justice; justice that drives away wars” and “a man of mercy, because justice and mercy go hand in hand.”

Karol Wojtyła was born on May 18, 1920, and elected Pope on October 16, 1978, becoming the first non-Italian pope in over 450 years. The so-called “Polish Pope” was widely credited with helping to bring about the downfall of Communist regimes in Poland and elsewhere in Europe.

Jan Paweł II visited Gdańsk for the first time as Pope in June 1987, where he met with Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa and conducted an open-air mass for one million people in the district of Zaspa.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

The European Commission has unveiled a EUR 300 billion proposal to reduce the bloc’s reliance on Russian energy in response to Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine.

The plan, dubbed “REPowerEU,” was announced yesterday by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The proposed program focuses on three main aspects to reduce dependency on Russian oil and gas: saving energy to reduce demand, diversifying supply using alternative suppliers, and extensive investment in renewable and other clean energy alternatives.

According to von der Leyen, approximately EUR 72 billion will be in grants, with EUR 225 billion in loans.

Of that amount, roughly EUR 10 billion will be earmarked to connect “missing links for gas and LNG so that no member state is left in the cold,” while up to EUR 2 billion will be invested in oil infrastructure “in view of stopping the shipment of Russian oil.”

The bulk of the financing, roughly 95 percent of the overall funding, “will go into speeding up and scaling up the clean energy transition.”

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

Media analysts have begun speculating that Russian propagandists are preparing the Russian public for the failure of Putin’s „special military operation” in Ukraine.

Retired colonel and military analyst Mikhail Khodarenok made shockwaves on social media yesterday after a series of sobering comments he made on public broadcaster Rossiya 1 went viral on English-language media.

Appearing on a program hosted by the influential propagandist Olga Skabaeva, Khodarenok warned against pointing missiles at Finland, saying threats of Russian military power were regarded as “comical” by the West.

While being careful not to reference Putin or condemn the war directly, Khodarenok repeatedly stressed that the situation in Ukraine was “not normal,” cautioning listeners against taking “information sedatives.”

“We’re in total geopolitical isolation,” he explained, “and the whole world is against us even if we don’t want to admit it.”

Source: Radio Poland, Reuters, kresy24.pl

Weather

Today will be sunny and hot, with no chance of rain and a gentle breeze coming in from the southeast. Temperatures will peak around a high of 26°C, or 79°F, dropping to an overnight low of 14°C or 57°F. Slightly cooler weather is expected for tomorrow, with a chance for rain returning over the weekend.

Elizabeth Peck