Russia carried out a series of missile attacks on Ukraine’s southern Black Sea port of Odesa over the weekend, damaging the marine terminal and hotel building and destroying grain storage facilities.

On Sunday night, Russia attacked Ukraine with 12 Kalibr cruise missiles, two Oniks anti-ship missiles, and 19 Iranian-made Shahed drones, the Air Force in Kyiv said. Ukraine’s air defenses brought down 11 out of 12 Kalibr missiles and all 19 unmanned aerial vehicles, according to officials.

Falling debris damaged warehouse buildings belonging to a business and a private family home in Odesa’s suburbs, according to reports from Ukrainska Pravda, with explosion waves breaking windows in several houses, injuring one civilian who received medical assistance.
In a 24-hour period from Sunday to Monday, Ukrainian sources claimed that Russian troops had shelled the Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Kherson regions, killing at least 4 civilians and injuring 11 more.

Today is day 580 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Source: Polskie Radio, Radio Gdańsk

Officials announced yesterday that the United States had agreed to provide Poland with a USD 2 billion direct loan “to support Poland’s defense modernization.”

The US State Department announced the move in a statement on Monday, describing Poland as “a stalwart US ally” and its security as “vital to the collective defense of NATO’s Eastern Flank.”

The statement praised Poland’s “central support role in facilitating international assistance to neighboring Ukraine” and “ironclad commitment to strengthening regional security through its robust investments in defense spending.”

According to the statement, “the U.S. government is providing up to $60 million in FMF [Foreign Military Financing] for the cost of this loan, which will help accelerate Poland’s defense modernization by supporting urgent procurements of defense articles and services from the United States.”
Earlier in the day, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland would spend over PLN 150 billion (EUR 32.6 billion), or 4.2% of GDP, on defense next year, according to reports by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

Source: Polskie Radio

Prime Minister Morawiecki has ordered Poland’s interior minister to introduce border checks for vehicles at the Polish-Slovak border in a bid to stop migrants from crossing Poland on their way to Germany via the so-called Balkan route.

As announced by Morawiecki, the border controls would cover “mini-vans, vans, passenger vehicles, and coaches which can be suspected of carrying illegal migrants.”

Going on to point out that Poland does “not control this border” as both countries are part of the EU’s border-free Schengen zone, Morawiecki claimed the additional checks at the Slovak border were necessary so that “no one could accuse us of having a leaky border.”

In his speech on Monday, Morawiecki claimed that illegal migrants had been entering Poland via the so-called Balkan route through Hungary and Serbia.

Earlier in the day, government spokesman Piotr Müller told private television broadcaster Polsat News that the government had been receiving information for some time that illegal migrants were using the Western Balkan route to transit through Poland and Slovakia on their way to Germany.

Müller also said that the Polish government does not rule out strengthening controls on the border with Germany in connection with what he called “the Italian migration route.”

Source: PAP, Radio Gdańsk

The unique arthouse animation film “Peasants” (Chłopi), which took home an Audience Award at last week’s Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, has been chosen as Poland’s candidate for an Academy Award in the best foreign language film category.

The new film from DK Welchman (formerly known as Dorota Kobiela) and Hugh Welchman was produced using the painting animation technique first applied in the duo’s highly acclaimed film “Loving Vincent.”

The story of “The Peasants” is based on Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning novel of the same title, written in four volumes between 1904 and 1909 and translated into 27 languages.

“The Peasants” had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month before going on to win an Audience Award at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia last week.

The film is scheduled to be released in theatres in Poland on October 13, with distribution rights already sold to over 50 countries.

Source: Polskie Radio

The Polish women’s national football team is set to take on Ukraine this evening at the City Stadium in Gdynia.

Today’s match will be the Polish team’s second outing in the first edition of the UEFA Women’s Nations League and a chance to see Ewa Pajor, one of the nominees for the prestigious “Golden Ball” award, in action.

According to Pomeranian football club president Radosław Michalski, the Polish women’s national team is the favorite to take first place in their group, giving them a chance to play in the play-offs for the European Championship.
Last Friday, the team defeated Greece 3:1, while Ukraine lost to Serbia 1:3.

The match between Poland and Ukraine is set for today at 18:00 CEST in Gdynia.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be mostly cloudy, with only a slight chance of rain and a light breeze from the southeast. Temperatures will stay pleasantly warm, with an afternoon high of 22°C or 72°F, dropping to a low of 13°C or 56°F overnight. Slightly warmer weather is expected tomorrow, with a chance for some sunshine throughout the day.

Elizabeth Peck/aKa