Russian forces conducted two missile strikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Monday evening, killing at least five people and injuring dozens more, according to local authorities.
The attack was likely conducted using Iskander missiles, which struck a five-story residential building in Pokrovsk around 19:15 local time Monday evening.
According to initial reports by Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, five people were killed and 31 injured in the attack. As of Tuesday morning, the death toll had risen to seven and the number of injured to 67, according to reports by PAP.
Among them are 29 police officers, seven rescuers, and two children, according to the most recent Telegram post by Klymenko.The rescuers were reportedly responding to the first missile attack when the second one hit.
In the aftermath of the latest wave of attacks, Ukraine has renewed its calls for long-range missiles, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reportedly making the request during a call on Monday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Today is day 531 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, Polskie Radio, rferl.org
The Polish Red Cross is sending aid and emergency personnel to Slovenia to help the small Alpine country recover from the aftermath of last week’s devastating floods.
Heavy rains last Thursday and Friday flooded towns in villages across much of Slovenia, killing three people and leaving hundreds injured.
Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob said that his country was facing the worst natural disaster in its history after flood waters destroyed roads, bridges, and houses, causing damage estimated at around EUR 500 million.
As one Red Cross official explained, Slovenia “is a country smaller than Mazowsze, slightly larger than the Łódź Voivodeship, with 2 million people. According to various estimates, 30-50 percent of the country’s territory is affected by the disaster.”
On Sunday, the Polish Red Cross (PCK) dispatched two trucks loaded with more than PLN 300,000 (EUR 67,500, USD 74,500) worth of humanitarian aid to Slovenia, including essential hygiene products like toothbrushes and toothpaste, and non-perishable food items.
A team of six emergency medical and humanitarian aid workers also set off from Poland on Sunday to assess needs on the ground and facilitate collaboration with the Slovenian Red Cross.
PCK is currently raising funds for additional humanitarian aid, such as dehumidifiers, to send to Slovenia. More information is available on the PCK website.
Source: Polskie Radio, PAP
World-famous ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov visited Warsaw over the weekend in a gesture of support for Teal House, a center providing integration support for Ukrainians and other immigrants.
Baryshnikov was born in 1948 in what was then the Soviet Republic of Latvia. He developed a spectacular career in classical ballet in the Soviet Union before defecting to the West in the 1970s and becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States.
In an interview with Onet, Baryshnikov described Teal House as “a phenomenal project, which I support with all my heart” and added that he planned to make more visits to Warsaw to assist the center and its founder, Ivan Vyrypaev.
Vyrypaev is a Russian-born Polish playwright, actor, and director who renounced his Russian citizenship in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. Last May, he was arrested in absentia by a Moscow court on charges of “spreading fake news about the Russian army.” Vyrypaev’s plays have been staged in more than 250 theaters around the world, making him one of the most prominent modern playwrights today.
His project, Teal House, offers a wide range of activities, including theatre workshops for Ukrainian teenagers, after-school classes for children speaking Polish, English, Ukrainian, and Belarusian, along with music, dance, and therapeutic sessions.
Source: Polskie Radio
A unique social cafe has opened in Gdańsk, featuring a cozy artistic space for serving meals and drinks combined with a ceramics studio, all run by people with disabilities.
The social cafe “ToMy” and the accompanying ceramic workshop have been operating for the last two months in the Dolne Miasto district of Gdańsk under the auspices of the Lena Grochowska Foundation.
According to Aleksandra Wiśniewska, manager of the Gdańsk branch of the foundation, the project’s goal is to “professionally activate people with intellectual disabilities.” The cafe and ceramic studio employs nearly a dozen people, including some on the autism spectrum and others with genetic conditions.
Staff members at ToMy are employed on part-time contracts, where they are given professional job development training and work as ceramicists and baristas. As Wiśniewska explains, the duration of training is extensive and varies based on an individual’s aptitude and level of disability.
The cafe employees seem to enjoy their work, telling a Radio Gdańsk reporter that they “like this place very much” as “there is a lot of understanding and support.”
Kawarnia “ToMy” is located at ul. Reduta Miś 3 in Gdansk and is open daily from 12:00 to 20:00.
Source: Radio Gdańsk
Weather
Today will be partly cloudy, with a chance for rain in the afternoon and evening, accompanied by strong winds from the southwest. Temperatures will remain on the cool side, with a daytime high of 19°C or 66°F, dropping to a low of 12°C or 53°F overnight. Similar temperatures are expected tomorrow, with a chance for some rain showers returning midday.
Elizabeth Peck/aKa
