Today marks day 256 since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian forces continue to carry out missile and drone strikes against critical infrastructure across Ukraine, with some 4.5 million Ukrainians reportedly affected by power outages.

Over the weekend, the Ukrainian state energy company Ukrenergo announced it would initiate indefinite rolling blackouts in at least seven regions of Ukraine, including the city of Kyiv and the surrounding region, and the regions of Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava.

Earlier this morning, the General staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU/ЗСУ) announced that over the past day, the Ukrainian army had repulsed Russian attacks in the vicinity of 14 towns in the Donbas, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia oblasts.

Fierce fighting is being reported in the besieged city of Bakhmut in the eastern republic of Donetsk. At the same time, Russia continues the forced evacuation of civilians from the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson Oblast in apparent preparation for a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP

The United States on Friday announced a new USD 400 million military aid package for Ukraine’s defense against Russia.

According to a statement by the US Department of Defense, the new security assistance package includes 45 refurbished T-72B tanks, 1,100 Phoenix Ghost tactical unmanned aerial systems, 40 armored Riverine boats, funding to refurbish 250 M1117 armored security vehicles, and additional “tactical secure communications systems and surveillance systems.”

The tanks are being provided as part of a “trilateral, coordinated effort between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic,” with the Netherlands set to provide 45 additional T-72B tanks as part of the deal.

The United States has now committed more than USD 18.9 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion on February 24, according to officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked US President Joe Biden and the American people for the new military assistance package, including “armored vehicles that will help us liberate Ukrainian land.”

Source: Radio Poland

Passengers flying through the Gdańsk airport are being told to expect flight delays due to a large number of air traffic controllers currently out on sick leave.

Rusłana Krzemińska of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) told Radio Gdańsk yesterday that nine out of 21 approach controllers from Gdańsk are on L4, or prescribed medical leave.

As a result, the remaining air traffic controllers will work only during specified periods and in single-operator “SPO mode,” switching every two hours with another controller on break during the previous shift. According to Krzemińska, the adjusted schedule will result in the approach service being closed for most of the day with a maximum processing capacity of only six planes per hour.

The approach was closed from 8:00 to 9:00 and 11:00-12:00 Sunday morning, with closures scheduled again from 16:00-17:00 and 19:00-20:00.

Officials from PANSA emphasized that the situation is dynamic and expect that delays or redirects will affect several dozen flights. Gdańsk airport officials claim the situation for passengers should only translate into flight delays.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Polish ski jumper Dawid Kubacki took home the top prize at the first World Cup event of the season in front of a home crowd in Wisła on Saturday.

The 32-year-old produced jumps of 130.5 and 132.5 meters, beating out Halvor Egner Granerud of Norway and Stefan Kraft of Austria for Kubacki’s sixth career win.

Polish teammate Piotr Żyła finished 5th, while three-time Olympic champion Kamil Stoch finished tenth.

Individual ski-jumping events will continue this afternoon at the Adam Małysz Ski Jumping Hill in Wisła, wrapping up the first of 32 FIS ski-jumping competitions planned for the 2022-23 season.

Source: Radio Poland

Polish tennis star Iga Świątek continues to dominate the WTA Finals in Texas after defeating Caroline Garcia of France last Thursday and American Coco Gauff over the weekend.

The Polish world No. 1 dominated Gauff in two sets (6-3 6-0) late Saturday to win her third straight match at the eight-player event in Fort Worth, Texas.

Świątek will face Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus tonight at 23:00 CET for a chance to advance to the finals.

Source: PAP, Radio Poland

Weather

Today will be cool but mostly sunny throughout the day, with a strong breeze coming in from the south. Temperatures will peak around a high of 10°C, or 50°F, dropping to a low of 4°C or 40°F overnight. Similar weather is expected for tomorrow, with a chance for some rain early in the morning.

Elizabeth Peck/pb