Poland is set to mark the 160th anniversary of the 1863 Uprising against Russia rule this weekend with a host of memorial events. President Andrzej Duda wrote in a message on Friday that the revolt 160 years ago was the largest and longest-lasting Polish national uprising in the 19th century.
As part of the commemorations, officials are expected to lay flowers at the Warsaw Citadel, a 19th-century fortress in the Polish capital where many Poles were imprisoned and executed after the failed insurrection.
The 1863 revolt, though unsuccessful, paved the way for the country’s hard-won sovereignty in 1918, officials have said.
Source – Polskie Radio
Poland’s Defence Minister has said that he is hopeful for a deal to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
The minister made the statement after the latest meeting of Western defence officials at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Defence leaders from around 50 countries gathered at Ramstein on Friday to discuss more weapons deliveries to Ukraine, but made no decision on whether Leopard tanks can be sent to the war-torn country. German reservations about sending the tanks appears to be the sticking point in the talks.
The Polish defence minister held talks with his German counterpart after the main meeting. The German minister later denied that Berlin was blocking the transfer of the tanks to Ukraine, and said his government was ready to “move quickly” on sending them if there was “consensus among allies”.
Source – Polskie Radio
The Polish Government has signed a EUR 150 million deal to supply offshore wind-farm turbines.
The Polish government has set up a joint venture company with Spain’s GRI Renewable Industries to produce towers for offshore wind farms which will be built in Gdańsk. The facility, which is set to cost over EUR 150 million and launch operations in 2025, will be able to produce more than 120 towers a year. The towers will be designed to hold the biggest offshore wind turbines, with a power capacity of more than 14 MW, according to officials.
Source – Polskie Radio
And finally, the drawbridge crossing from Gdańsk to the island of Sobieszewo which suffered a technical fault and has not been able to be raised for allowing large river vessels to pass through between the Port of Gdańsk and the open sea for more than a week, has been fixed.
Car traffic across the bridge was unaffected as the bridge was stuck in the “down”. The crossing has been operating since autumn 2018 and the defective component of the raising mechanism was replaced under warranty.
Source – Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be a cloudy day with very strong winds and chances of snow during the day and temperatures of 3 degrees centigrade (37 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 0 degrees overnight. The strong wind will die off tomorrow leaving a cloudy day in a moderate breeze with temperatures of 1 degrees during the day and -2 degrees overnight.
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