Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni yesterday in Rome before heading to the Vatican for talks with Pope Francis.

According to Reuters, Meloni condemned Russia’s “brutal and unjust aggression,” pledging Italy’s support for Ukraine for “as long as is necessary,” and emphasizing Italy’s backing of Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and partnership with NATO.

During their 40-minute meeting at the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Francis and Zelensky discussed the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine and the need to continue helping the war-torn country’s population.

According to reports in Reuters, the Pope had previously expressed an interest in mediating the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and Zelensky took the opportunity of their meeting to ask him to condemn Russian crimes in Ukraine.

As a parting gift, the Pope gave Zelensky a small sculpture of an olive branch, a symbol of peace, while Zelensky presented the Pope with an image of Our Lady painted on a bulletproof vest. It was the first meeting between Pope Francis and the Ukrainian president since the start of the Russian invasion last year.

Today is day 445 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Source: Polskie Radio, PAP

Poland’s territorial defense forces are still looking for an “object resembling a balloon” after the Government Center for Security (RCB) issued an alert yesterday for residents in Pomerania and two other provinces.

Yesterday’s RCB alert, which also went out to the provinces of Kujawsko-Pomorskie and Zachodniopomorskie, warned residents that “the search for an airborne object resembling a balloon is underway. If found, do not pick the object up – notify the nearest police station.”

According to reports by the Polish Press Agency, some 30 soldiers of the 8th Kuyavian-Pomeranian Territorial Defense Brigade (WOT) were searching for the object in Kipichy (Mazowieckie) in the Żuromin district yesterday afternoon.

In a statement cited by RMF FM, Captain Ewa Złotnicka, press officer of the Operational Command of the Armed Forces, said the object “was observed when it was still in the airspace of Belarus. After crossing the Polish border, radar monitoring began.”

Złotnicka emphasized that “all procedures applicable in this type of case were launched,” including dispatching a MiG-29 duty pair and later an F-16.

The Polish Ministry of Defense posted on Twitter that according to info from the Air Operations Center (COP), the object “is probably an observation balloon.”

Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP

Returning Eurovision winner Loreen of Sweden ultimately triumphed over neighboring rival Finland after audience points were awarded in the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final last night.

Sweden topped the voting lists at 583 points, with now two-time winner Loreen performing her song “Tattoo.” Finnish rapper and singer Käärijä came in a close second with 526 points for the colorful performance of his rap/rock song “Cha Cha Cha.”

Ukraine’s entry, the hip-hop-infused “Heart of Steel” by electronic music duo Tvorchi, also scored highly, coming in 6th overall with 243 points, just beyond Italian-Norwegian pop singer Alessandra with 268 points.

Performers earned points from both a professional jury and participating TV viewers, with Eurovision allowing TV viewers from non-competition countries to vote for the first time in the history of the popular song contest.

Poland’s entry, “Solo,” performed by pop singer Blanka, came in 19th of 26 countries during the Grand Final, despite favorable reviews from critics and audience members.

Britain’s “The Guardian” newspaper placed the song among the 14 most interesting songs presented in the competition, and the video was the most streamed performance of the second semi-final on the Eurovision platform heading into the last night’s Grand Final.

The UK hosted this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in place of Ukraine, which, despite winning last year, could not host the contest due to Russia’s ongoing aggression.

Source: PAP, eurovision.tv

Polish tennis star Iga Świątek advanced to the third round of the women’s singles competition at the Italian Open in Rome over the weekend with a “double-bagel” win over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The Polish world No. 1 ousted the unseeded Russian player 6-0, 6-0 in just 66 minutes in their second-round encounter last Friday.

Świątek will face off against Lesia Viktorivna Tsurenko of Ukraine today at 12:15 CEST for the chance to advance to the Round of 16.

Magda Linette is also in the running to advance to the Round of 16 in the women’s doubles competition as she and partner Markéta Šimková of the Czech Republic face off against the Taiwanese duo of Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan at 13:15 CEST today.

World No. 11 Hubert Hurkacz was knocked out of the men’s singles competition after losing in two sets (3-6, 4-6) to J.J. Wolf of the United States last night.

Source: Polskie Radio, atptour.com, wtatennis.com

Weather

Today will be mostly sunny, with a chance for rain showers in the late afternoon and early evening and a light breeze coming in from the northeast. Temperatures will peak at a daytime high of 21°C or 70°F before dropping to a low of 11°C or 52°F overnight. More rain is expected tomorrow, with sunny skies but cooler temps returning on Tuesday.

Elizabeth Peck/pb