In what is now a common occurrence, air alerts went off across Ukraine yesterday, with Politico reporting that Ukrainian air defenses had shot down some 80 Iranian drones in the past week.

According to Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat, who spoke with Politico, the Ukrainian air defense has destroyed 540 Iranian kamikaze drones since the beginning of September. Ihnat credited the successful Ukrainian air defense to the presence of some 30 German Gepard or “cheetah” air defense systems sent by Germany to Ukraine. Seven additional systems are reportedly on the way. The highly-anticipated Patriot missile defense system from the US is also expected to arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks, according to Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.

Last month, Washington announced another package of military aid to Ukraine worth almost $2 billion, which included delivering the first battery of the Patriot anti-missile defense system. The US is also looking at ways to block Iranian drone shipments at the source by targeting Iranian drone production “through sanctions, export controls, and talks with private companies whose parts were used in production,” according to National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.

Today is Day 316 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP

The Polish government on Wednesday signed a USD 1.4 billion deal to buy 116 M1A1 Abrams tanks from the United States as part of efforts to bolster Poland’s defenses.

Yesterday’s high-profile signing ceremony in Warsaw was led by Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and attended by the US deputy chief of mission in Poland, Daniel Lawton. The outgoing session of the US Congress officially cleared the sale of the 116 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks and related equipment to Poland last month. Błaszczak told those at Wednesday’s ceremony that the US-made tanks would help Poland “effectively deter a potential aggressor” and “will also increase the security of the entire eastern flank of NATO.”

Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland

The Polish central bank’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Council left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, keeping the 6.75 percent reference rate set last September.

The panel delivered nearly a dozen rate hikes in 2022 in an effort to contain surging consumer prices, including the last increase from 6.50 to 6.75 percent in September. Inflation in Poland hit 17.5 percent in November and 16.6 percent in December, according to estimates by the state-run Statistics Poland (GUS) agency.

Source: Radio Poland

Poland’s tennis team has advanced to the semifinals of the United Cup in Australia after beating Italy 3-2 yesterday in the quarterfinals.

The mixed-doubles duo of Iga Świątek and Hubert Hurkacz earned the decisive point for Team Poland, overpowering Italy’s Camilla Rosatello and Lorenzo Musetti in two sets (6-1, 6-2) on Wednesday.

It was the Polish women, however, who scored most of the points against Italy, with world No. 1 Iga Świątek beating Italy’s Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-4, and world No. 48 Magda Linette dominating Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-2.

In the men’s singles, No. 10-ranked Hubert Hurkacz lost in three sets (4-6, 6-3, 3-6) to Matteo Berrettini, while 22-year-old Daniel Michalski was quickly dispatched by Musetti (1-6, 1-6). The Polish team now heads to Sydney for the semifinals this Friday and Saturday.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP, wtatennis.com

Polish ski jumpers are approaching their jubilee hundredth victory in World Cup competition after teammate Dawid Kubacki won the third leg of the prestigious Four Hills ski-jumping tournament in Innsbruck, Austria, on Wednesday.

Kubacki was followed by Norway’s Halvor Egner Granerud in second place and Slovenia’s Anze Lanisek in third. Teammates Kamil Stoch finished just shy of the podium in fifth place, with Piotr Żyła coming in 10th and Paweł Wąsek just breaking the top 20.

This year’s Four Hills series will conclude with an event in Austria’s Bischofshofen on Friday, with Norway’s Granerud comfortably in the lead in the general classification, 23.3 points ahead of Kubacki.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland, fis-ski.com

Weather

Today will be cloudy and cool with a chance of rain showers throughout the day and a strong breeze coming in from the west and later north. Temperatures will start out close to a high of 8°C or 47°F in the morning before dropping below freezing to a low of -2°C, or 28°F overnight. Cold, cloudy weather is expected tomorrow, with a chance for snow showers in the early afternoon.

Listen to the broadcast:

Elizabeth Peck/ol