Russia has accused Ukraine of firing missiles that hit two thermal power plants in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine on Sunday. Citing information from Russia’s state TASS news agency, initial reports by Reuters suggested that the Elenovka and Starobeshevskaya thermal power plants had been hit by Ukrainian missiles and that some workers had been injured and one person had been killed.

According to TASS, „the body of one dead woman was extracted from under the rubble at the [Starobeshevskaya] plant” in Novyi Svit. Russia claims the strike was carried out using a multiple rocket launcher system or HIMARS.

Reuters reported that there was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has never officially claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia or Russian-occupied territories.

Source: Radio Poland, Reuters

Visitors to the Vatican can now pay homage to Pope Benedict XVI at his official burial site in the Vatican grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica.

The former Pope was buried in the same location as the tomb of Pope John Paul II before it was relocated to St. Peter’s Basilica in 2011.

As of 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, Benedict’s tomb in the grottoes of St. Peter’s Basilica was open to the public, with journalists accredited to the Vatican becoming the first visitors to the site. The location was chosen by the retired Pope, who passed away Dec 31 at the age of 95.

Polish officials, including Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda, were among the tens of thousands of mourners who attended the former Pope’s funeral last week.

Source: PAP

The Polish crew of the yacht „I Love Poland” set out yesterday from Marina Lanzarote in the Canary Islands to participate in the 9th annual Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) Transatlantic Race.

The „I Love Poland” crew will cover some 2,800 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean, starting in the Canary Islands and finishing at Port Louis Marina on the island of Grenada in the West Indies.

In total, more than two hundred sailors from 21 countries will take part in this year’s competition, which features vessels of various sizes, including three 70-foot trimarans, three maxi yachts (including „I Love Poland,” which is a Volvo Open 70 unit) and many smaller yachts, some of which contain only two-person crews.

Last year, „I Love Poland” and her crew were the third monohull across the finish line with a time of 10 days, 11 hours, 12 minutes, and 50 seconds. Their time earned them 10th place overall and 3rd place in the IRC Superzero class, which takes into account different yacht and sail sizes.

The progress of every vessel in this year’s race can be tracked >>>HERE.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Iga Świątek has been named Poland’s best athlete of 2022 by Poland’s „Przegląd Sportowy” sports magazine and Polsat television.

In the poll, held by Przegląd Sportowy for the 88th year, the 21-year-old French Open and US Open Grand Slam winner came ahead of three-time speedway world champion and 2019 poll winner Bartosz Zmarzlik and three-time poll winner (2015, 2020, 2021) Robert Lewandowski.

Świątek’s father Tomasz received the award on her behalf as she is currently in the Antipodes training for the Australian Open Grand Slam tournament, which officially starts next Monday in Melbourne.

Volleyball player Kamil Semeniuk, winner of the Champions League together with Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle, came in fourth, while Olympic medal-winning ski jumper Dawid Kubacki came in fifth.

Athletes with roots in Gdańsk were also included in the „best athlete” list, with Mateusz Biskup, a world-class Olympic rower born in Gdańsk, joining his rowing doubles teammates Fabian Barański, Mirosław Ziętarski, and Dominik Czaja to round out the top ten.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland

More than a dozen athletes have been nominated to win the 2022 „Sports Personality of Radio Gdańsk” or the „Personality of Pomorze Biega i Pomoc” set to be awarded tonight.

The „Sports Personality of Radio Gdańsk” award gala will take place in the Janusz Hajdun concert studio at 6:00 p.m., followed by a concert by popular local blues group Cotton Wing.

Any of the 12 candidates who received the title of „Sports Personality of the Month” in 2022 are eligible for the „Sports Personality of the Year” award. A complete list of the nominees, along with those who contributed to the charity campaign „Pomorze Biega i Pomoc,” can be found on our website.

Tonight’s gala and concert will be broadcast on both the Radio Gdańsk website and our Facebook page.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be mostly cloudy and cold, with a chance of rain showers in the afternoon and a strong breeze coming in from the southeast. Temperatures will hover around 5°C or 41°F during the day, dropping slightly to a low of 3°C, or 38°F overnight. Similar, cold, cloudy weather is expected again tomorrow, with a chance for more rain on Wednesday.

Listen:

Elizabeth Peck/MarWer