Two loud explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight as Russia continued attacks on several regions, reportedly with Iranian-made Shahed drones.

In addition to blasts in Kyiv and the surrounding region, Ukraine’s air defense was also at work in the cities of Odesa, Kramatorsk, and Slovyansk, Ukraine’s armed forces said.

The regions that heard air raid alarms ringing in the early hours of Thursday morning included Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia, The Kyiv Independent website reported.

Residents were urged to remain in shelters.

On Wednesday, the US embassy in Ukraine warned of a „heightened threat of missile attacks” after a string of deadly attacks across Ukraine, including one in Uman last week which killed 23 and wounded 18, and yesterday’s deadly strikes on a supermarket, train station, and other residential facilities in the region of Kherson.

Twenty-one civilians were reportedly killed during yesterday’s attacks, with another 48 wounded, according to reports by Reuters this morning.

Source: Polskie Radio, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Amsterdam late Wednesday night for an unannounced visit to the Netherlands. As reported by Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, he landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on board a Dutch government plane last night after attending a Nordic summit in Helsinki, Finland.

Zelensky is set to meet with Dutch lawmakers and Prime Minister Mark Rutte and visit the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Thursday. According to the Dutch press service ANP, Zelensky will deliver a speech entitled „No peace without justice for Ukraine” while visiting the Hague.

Today is day 435 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Source: Polskie Radio

Pomeranian police reported a comparatively safe Majówka holiday weekend this year, with no deaths and half as many accidents compared to the same period last year.

According to police data, 13 serious accidents and 18 injuries have been reported on roads in Pomerania since last Friday, a significant improvement over the 27 accidents, 29 injuries, and three deaths reported the previous year. The number of collisions, however, was relatively the same as last year, at just over 300, as was the number of drunk drivers (66).

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Polish tennis star Iga Świątek successfully cruised to the semifinals of the Madrid Open after defeating Petra Martić of Croatia in straight sets last night. The Polish world No. 1 sailed past her 27th-seeded opponent 6-0, 6-3 in their 69-minute quarterfinal showdown on Wednesday night in the Spanish capital.

After the match, Świątek said she felt „like I’m playing better and better every day,” adding that „today was for sure a good day.” The 21-year-old Pole will face 12th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova of Russia today at 9:20 CEST for a place in the finals.

Source: Polskie Radio, wtatennis.com

The second annual „Lost Culture Festival” is underway this week at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk. It is a relatively new initiative designed to promote artistic works from Poland’s interwar period and artists whose lives and livelihoods were cut short by the Nazi German invasion of 1939.

Throughout May, the Museum of the Second World War will host a series of concerts, theater performances, and lectures, starting with a series of outdoor concerts this weekend.

On Friday, May 5, at 8:00 p.m., there will be an outdoor concert of compositions by Eugeniusz Morawski-Dąbrowa entitled „What we have left.” The Wojciech Kilar Polish Philharmonic „Sinfonia Baltica” from Słupsk will perform symphonic poems of the composer based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe along with the two-act ballet „Świtezianka.” The concert will take place on the outdoor stage at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk. Tickets cost PLN 50 (normal) and PLN 30 (reduced).

More information on tomorrow’s concert and the Lost Culture Festival can be found on the festival website >>>HERE.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and cool, with very little chance of rain showers and a light breeze from the northeast. Temperatures will peak at a daytime high of 13°C or 56°F before dropping to a low of 4°C or 40°F overnight. Cooler weather is expected tomorrow, with warmer temperatures returning over the weekend.

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Elizabeth Peck/MarWer