Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Ukrainians to remain vigilant as the country prepares to celebrate Independence Day this week.

During his nightly address, Zelensky warned that “this week Russia could try to do something particularly disgusting, something particularly cruel.”

Wednesday marks 31 years of Ukrainian independence from Soviet rule and six months since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country began.

Zelensky has encouraged Ukrainians not to allow Moscow to “spread despondency and fear” ahead of the August 24 events.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

Darya Dugina, daughter of prominent Russian nationalist Alexander Dugin, was killed over the weekend in a suspected car bomb attack outside Moscow.

Russian investigators claim an explosive device blew up the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving Saturday evening. Russian pundits were quick to blame Ukraine, which denied any involvement in the incident.

Dugina was the daughter of ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin, a staunch Putin ally known as “Putin’s brain” and an advocate and architect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As chief editor of a Russian disinformation website, Darya Dugina was also a staunch advocate of Russian expansion and the war in Ukraine, saying the country would “perish” upon joining NATO.

She also infamously argued that the massacres in Bucha were staged and claimed evidence of war crimes was “an anti-Russian smear campaign.”

Both Dugina and her father had been sanctioned by the United States.

Source: Radio Poland, BBC, washingtonpost.com

Firefighters in Pomerania were called out 137 times over the weekend to deal with the effects of weather-related incidents across the province.

According to Brigadier Łukasz Płusa of the Provincial Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Gdańsk, the majority of incidents occurred in the poviats of Puck (47), Malbork (25), Wejherowski (17), and Kościerzyna (13).

Firefighters in Sopot reported four incidents resulting from extreme weather, the most serious of which concerned a tree branch falling on a car parked on ul. Kościuszko.

No one was reportedly injured in any of the incidents.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Poland won another seven medals, three gold and four silver, during the final day of the European Championships in Munich.

On Sunday, the canoeing duo of Arsen Śliwiński and Michał Łubniewski took home a gold medal in the men’s canoeing C2 200 m, while Wiktor Głazunow and Tomasz Barniak earned silver for Poland in the men’s C2 500 m.

In kayaking, the four-person team of Karolina Naja, Anna Puławska, Adrianna Kąkol, and Dominika Putto took home an additional gold in the women’s K4 500 m, while teammate Anna Puławska claimed an individual gold medal in the women’s K1 500 m.

Poland’s first silver on Sunday came from Mateusz Surwilo in the men’s K1 200 m, and Justyna Iskrzycka added another in the women’s K1 1000 m.

The duo of Dominika Putto and Katarzyna Kołodziejczyk rounded out the day’s winnings after scooping the silver medal in the women’s kayaking K2 200 m.

The second annual European Championships, which features European countries competing in a variety of Olympic sports, wrapped up Sunday evening.

Overall, Germany and the UK topped the medal table with a tally of 60 medals each, with Germany winning 26 gold medals to the UK’s 24. Poland finished in eighth place overall, with 39 medals total, including 8 gold, 16 silver, and 15 bronze.

Source: Radio Poland, munich2022.com

Weather

Today will again be mostly cloudy and cool, with an increasing chance of rainstorms as the day progresses and a strong breeze coming in from the northeast. Temperatures will peak around a high of 20°C, or 68°F, dropping to an overnight low of 17°C or 62°F. Slightly warmer weather is expected for tomorrow, with storms and a chance for rain throughout the day.

Elizabeth Peck