Russia launched a major missile attack on Ukraine yesterday, killing at least 18 people and damaging critical infrastructure across the country.

One Russian strike hit a nine-story apartment block in the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, killing 18 people, including a 15-year-old girl, and wounding at least 73 others, according to local officials. The attacks on Saturday targeted critical infrastructure, including vital energy facilities, in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Lviv.

Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defenses reportedly destroyed 25 out of 38 Russian missiles of various types, according to the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In an update early this morning, Al Jazeera quoted claims by Ukraine’s top military commander that Russia had carried out three air raids, 57 missile attacks, and 69 attacks from heavy weapon rocket salvo systems in the „largest wave of strikes in two weeks.”

Today marks the 326th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland, Al Jazeera

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced yesterday that the United Kingdom planned to send its highly sought-after Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine to aid in the country’s defense.

Sunak outlined Britain’s plans to send the tanks and additional artillery support during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. President Zelensky thanked Sunak for the decision, saying it „will not only strengthen [Ukraine] on the battlefield but also send the right signal to other partners.”

The UK will be the first country to send modern Western-made tanks to Ukraine, a move the authorities in Kyiv have long sought. Despite being over 20 years old, the Challenger tank „will be the most modern tank at Ukraine’s disposal,” according to the BBC.

Earlier this week, Polish president Andrzej Duda pledged that Poland would send a company of German-made Gepard tanks to help Ukraine, a move which must first be approved by Germany.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

Winter break or „feria” started yesterday for schools across Pomerania and four other provinces of Poland, including Lubelskie, Łódzkie, Podkarpackie, and Śląskie.

Other provinces will start their two-week winter breaks in the coming weeks in staggered groupings set by the Polish ministry of education. The holiday rotation, which does not apply to public kindergartens or preschools, will finish by February 26.

The school holiday in Pomerania will last for two weeks, until Sunday, January 29.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Despite a disappointing 23:32 (11:17) loss to Slovenia last night in the second group match of the World Men’s Handball Championship in Katowice, other Polish athletes had a record-setting weekend.

Polish speed skater Natalia Maliszewska successfully defended her silver medal in the 500-meter finals of the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdańsk yesterday.

Defending champion Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands topped the podium for a second year in a row, while Arianna Valcepina of Italy took third.

The win marks the fourth medal for 27-year-old Maliszewska in the 500 meters event at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships and the second time she has finished runner-up in Gdańsk.

The Championships will resume today at 10:30 a.m. in Hala Olivia.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP

Snowboarder Oskar Kwiatkowski also won his World Cup competition on Saturday at the Swiss resort of Scuol, marking the first time he has stood on the podium at an elite event.

After a close race against Austrian Andreas Prommegger in the semi-finals of the parallel giant slalom, Kwiatkowski defeated Marko Felicetti of Italy after the latter fell during his run.

Fellow Poles Michał Nowaczyk and Aleksandra Król were eliminated in the round of sixteen, while Weronika Biela-Nowaczyk didn’t advance beyond the qualifiers.

Source: PAP, sport.pl

Polish ski jumpers Kamil Stoch, Piotr Żyła, Paweł Wąsek and Dawid Kubacki took second place in the team competition of the Ski Jumping World Cup in Zakopane on Saturday.

The White-and-Reds were only one point behind Stefan Kraft and the winning team from Austria and a full 6.1 points ahead of Germany in third place.

Kubacki topped the rankings for the Poles with jumps of 136.5 and 127.5 meters for an overall score of 306 points. He was followed by Stoch with jumps of 134 and 128 meters, Żyła at 134 and 134 meters, and Wąsek at 125 and 127.5 meters.

Slovenia and Anže Lanišek came in fourth, followed by teams from Norway, Finland, the US, the Czech Republic, and Romania.

Source: PAP, fis-ski.com

Weather

Today will be mostly cloudy and cold with a chance of rain showers in the morning and a slight breeze coming in from the southwest. Temperatures will hover around 7°C or 45°F during the day, dropping slightly to a low of 3°C, or 37°F overnight. Slightly cooler, but less cloudy weather is expected tomorrow, with a chance for rain or snow showers returning midweek.

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Elizabeth Peck/MarWer