A Polish deputy interior minister recently warned that Europe could experience a new wave of refugees from war-torn Ukraine this winter.

Bartosz Grodecki made his comment while speaking to the press at the international conference “Migration Partnerships – Way Forward in Times of New Challenges,” held earlier this week in Prague.

Grodecki told the PAP news agency that Russia’s “terrorist strikes” against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, coupled with the approaching winter, “may spark another wave of migration.”

Grodecki said that “Poland will bear the brunt of this wave,” adding that his interior ministry would organize refugee support in cooperation with regional officials based on “tried and tested procedures.”

He added that Polish authorities had already “met with our Ukrainian counterparts and are preparing for this.”

Source: Radio Poland

The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Poland reports it is carrying out “detailed analyses” concerning the provenance of a book French President Emmanuel Macron recently gave to Pope Francis.

The gift of an eighteenth-century edition of “Perpetual Peace” by Immanuel Kant caused a furor in Polish intellectual circles after images of the title page were shown bearing the mark of the “Academic Reading Room in Lwów.” At the time in question, Lwów (now Lviv) was part of Poland, with speculation quickly surfacing that the book may be another example of stolen Polish cultural property looted during a war.

According to Wojciech Konończuk, deputy director of the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, “there is a possibility” that a copy of Kant’s work may have been stolen during the wars, but determining provenance “will be difficult” and “there is no evidence of the Academic Reading Room selling books.”

The Ministry of Culture has declared it is “actively trying to determine when and under what circumstances the book left Lviv,” remarking that the French gift should have been “preceded by detailed provenance studies to exclude the possibility that the object may constitute a war loss.”

Source: PAP

The President of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) is calling for Russia to be removed from FIFA and UEFA after Russia announced that clubs in occupied areas of Ukraine would play in Russian championships.

Russian national teams were banned from FIFA and UEFA competitions after the military invasion of Ukraine in February, but the Football Union of Russia (RFU) is still a member of both organizations.

Russian Federation Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko reportedly told President Vladimir Putin on Monday that the government had agreed with the RFU to include clubs from the illegally-annexed areas of Ukraine in regular Russian football championships.

In response, UAF President Andriy Pawelko issued “an immediate appeal” to FIFA and UEFA “demanding the strictest sanctions against the RFU,” including “the exclusion of Russia from UEFA and FIFA for gross violation of the statutes of these organizations.”

Ukrainian officials went on to assure that Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine would be included in plans for the upcoming 2030 World Cup, which Ukraine will host together with Spain and Portugal.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, PAP

Residents are being warned of morning traffic delays near Matarnia starting on Thursday due to renovations and road narrowing on ul. Budowlanych from ul. Nowatorów to the PKM Matarnia stop.

There will be a speed limit of 40 km / h and a ban on overtaking other cars along the entire renovated section, with additional access restrictions near ul. Jesienna due to the construction of a new storm drainage system.

According to the Directorate for the Development of the City of Gdańsk, the city has been discussing plans to redevelop and expand the street for nearly six years.

Renovations include the expansion of underground utility networks for gas, heating, and energy, as well as a new walking and bicycle path, new street lighting, new drainage systems, and new traffic lights. In addition, the road will be widened over a section of approx. 1.5 km or roughly 1 mile, with an additional lane towards ul. Nowatorów.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and cool, with very little chance of rain and a gentle breeze coming in from the southwest. Temperatures will peak around a high of 14°C, or 57°F, dropping to a low of only 7°C or 45°F overnight. Similar weather is expected for tomorrow, with a chance for some rain returning on Friday.

Elizabeth Pecka/am