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☆ Role of women in society at stake in Polish election
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"PiS doesn't respect women," Magdalena Bojko, a 36-year-old office worker, said during an opposition rally this month. Some surveys show the mainstream opposition could form a majority government even if PiS is in first place. Activists say that's in part because women are scared of having children following a handful of cases when pregnant women died of sepsis in hospitals as doctors waited for the fetus' heart to stop beating. "Women in Poland are terrified." "The opposition says the biggest problem for women is the lack of access to abortion.

Persons: Kacper, Agata, Magdalena Bojko, PiS, Anna Materska, Antonina Lewandowska, Anna Giszczak, Karolina Kowalewska, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Justyna Pawlak, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Law and Justice, Foundation, Civic Coalition, Reuters, Political, Warsaw University, Foundation for Women, Thomson Locations: Europe, Warsaw, Poland

☆ Analysis-Poland's PiS Faces Far-Right Challenge Over Ukraine Support
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

While Poles' overall attitudes to Ukrainian refugees remain positive and support for Kyiv's war effort is almost unanimous, research shows that critical views are becoming more widespread. SHIFTING VIEWSA survey last month showed that the number of Poles who support allowing refugees from Ukraine in has fallen to 69% from 91% just after the war started. Other research has shown a higher level of aversion to Ukrainian refugees among young women than in other demographics. POLISH PUSHBACKIt is against this political backdrop that PiS decided to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports in response to rising anger in the party's rural heartlands. "When it was necessary, we opened our hearts, we opened our homes for refugees from Ukraine," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

Persons: Alan Charlish, Marek Strzelecki WARSAW, Slawomir Mentzen, Piotr Muller, CBOS, Anna Brylka, PiS, Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland, Marek Strzelecki, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Justyna, Gareth Jones Organizations: Russia, Justice, Confederation, Reuters, EU, Ukraine Locations: Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Warsaw, heartlands, Kyiv, Western

WARSAW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The Polish government wants to pose questions to voters during a Oct. 15 election that will include whether Poland should take in "thousands of illegal immigrants", a move rivals say aims to swing the vote by misleading voters about opposition policies. The centrist Civic Platform (PO), the main opposition party which is running neck and neck with PiS according to some polls, says the questions are designed to sway voters by distorting the opposition's stance on these sensitive issues. PiS, seeking a third term in power, has put opposition to migration at the centre of its campaign and says the opposition would hurt the economy by selling state assets and endanger security amid Russia's war in Ukraine. "When we propose a question so that we don't sell out Poland's wealth, the opposition gets furious. The PO says it does not have an open-door migrant policy and says none of the questions represent their policies.

Persons: PiS, Mateusz Morawiecki, Malgorzata Kidawa, Blonska, Mariusz Blaszczak, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Edmund Blair Organizations: WARSAW, Law and Justice, European Union, Twitter, Defence, Thomson Locations: Polish, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, East, Africa, Europe

And his fellow veterans of the Ukraine conflict are bound to play a role in the fight for their own country. With nearly all the opposition now in jail or exile, that is no small feat. Six weeks ago, there was a brief jolt of hope for the Belarus opposition, when Russia's Wagner mercenary group launched a mutiny inside Russia. But within hours, Lukashenko himself helped bring an end to the Russian mutiny, negotiating for Wagner fighters to move to Belarus. Exactly what role the Wagner fighters will play in Belarus is anyone's guess, but for the opposition, nothing good can come of it, said Kedyshko.

Persons: Pavel Maryeuski, Alexander Lukashenko's, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenko's, Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenko, Stanislava Glinnik, Belarus's, Pavel Kuhta, Tsikhanouskaya's, Sergey Kedyshko, Russia's Wagner, Wagner, Weeks, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Mike Collett, White, Peter Graff Organizations: WARSAW, Reuters, Coordination, United Operational, Lukashenko's Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Minsk, Soviet, Karma, Warsaw, Belarusian, Moscow

[1/5] Belarus' exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya gives an opening speech during the New Belarus conference in Warsaw, Poland, August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Kuba StezyckiWARSAW, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Exiled opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko met in Poland on Sunday, on the eve of the third anniversary of their unsuccessful post-election protests, to display unity and plan strategy including the issuance of "New Belarus" passports. Set up in August 2022 by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the self-declared government-in exile has opened more than 20 alternative embassies and information centres abroad. Speaking at a hotel in Warsaw to several hundred activists, including independent media and civic groups, Tsikhanouskaya urged opposition forces abroad to unite and support the creation of a "New Belarus" movement. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron first since 1994, using security forces to intimidate, beat and jail his foes or force them to flee abroad.

Persons: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Tsikhanouskaya, Syarhei Tsikhanouski, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: New, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Belarus, New Belarus, Warsaw, Poland, WARSAW, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Belarusian

☆ More Wagner fighters move closer to Polish border, Poland PM says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, July 29 (Reuters) - A group of a hundred soldiers from the Russian Wagner group have moved closer to the Belarusian city of Grodno near the Polish border, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday. Earlier this month, Poland began moving more than 1,000 troops to the east of the country amid rising concerns that the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus could lead to increased tension on its border. Most likely they (the Wagner personnel) will be disguised as the Belarusian border guard and help illegal migrants get to the Polish territory (and) destabilise Poland," Morawiecki said at a press conference in Gliwice, western Poland. "They will most likely try to enter Poland pretending to be illegal migrants and this poses additional threats," Morawiecki said. The following day, some Wagner fighters arrived at the training ground of the 38th airborne assault brigade outside the city of Brest, just a few miles from the Polish border.

Persons: Russian Wagner, Mateusz Morawiecki, Wagner, Morawiecki, Anton Motolko, Russia's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Agnieszka Pikulicka, David Holmes Organizations: WARSAW, Warsaw Pact, NATO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Belarusian, Grodno, Polish, Poland, Warsaw, U.S, Ukraine, Belarus, Gliwice, Lithuanian, Kaliningrad, Africa, Brest, Moscow, Russia

KOLPIN-OGRODNIKI, Poland, July 20 (Reuters) - People living near Poland's border with Belarus said on Thursday they could hear shooting and helicopters after Russia's Wagner Group arrived to train Belarusian special forces just a few miles from the frontier, compounding their fears the Ukraine war would reach them. Minsk posted pictures of masked Wagner instructors, their faces covered in accordance with the mercenary group's rules, training Belarusian soldiers with armoured vehicles and what appear to be drone controls. It is unclear how many fighters of the Russian mercenary group are currently training at the training ground of the 38th airborne assault brigade outside the city of Brest. In December last year, Russia and Belarus signed an agreement legalizing the permanent presence of Russian military formations on Belarus territory. Earlier this week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a law establishing combat centres for joint training for military personnel of both countries.

Persons: Russia's Wagner, Agata Moroz, He's, I'm, Moroz, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Adam Ligor, Anton Motolko, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Warsaw Pact, NATO, Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: OGRODNIKI, Poland, Poland's, Belarus, Belarusian, Ukraine, Kolpin, Russia, Africa, Minsk, Russian, Brest, Warsaw, U.S, Moscow

We like to call it the occupation of the Museum of Modern Art and the director is happy with the occupation," Krivich, 34, joked. "Many of my friends from Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Belarus feel at home here, also mentally, culturally and ideologically… We have a common past," Krivich told Reuters. The New Theatre not only gave the refugee actors a chance to perform but also helped them with accommodation and visas. "Poland is the only country where Belarusians can easily legalise their stay... All independent art initiatives that used to be in Minsk are now in Warsaw," said Dashuk. In May, a Moscow District Court arrested Vyrypaev in absentia for spreading "fake news" about the Russian army.

Persons: Yulia Krivich, Krivich, Marina Dashuk, Ivan Vyrypaev, Dashuk, Vyrypaev, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Gareth Jones Organizations: WARSAW, Soviet, Warsaw's Museum of Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Reuters, THEATRE Warsaw, New Theatre, Theatre, Teal, Ukrainian, Court, Thomson Locations: Soviet Union, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Russian, Moscow, Belarus, Central, Kyrgyzstan, Dashuk, Belarusian, Minsk, Warsaw, Europe

☆ Polish LGBTQ crowds march to demand equal rights as election looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/8] People take selfie on the day of an annual LGBT Equality Parade in Warsaw, Poland June 17, 2023. With an election in October or November looking tight, activists expect PiS to use issues like gay marriage or teaching about LGBTQ issues in schools to mobilise socially conservative voters. It also says that teaching about LGBTQ issues in schools results in children being sexualised. "We want to celebrate but also fight for more rights [for the LGBTQ community] in Poland," Gora told Reuters. While thousands celebrated marching to the sounds of music, a group of anti-LGBTQ activists from the Foundation for Life and Family burned rainbow flags, the symbol of the LGBTQ community.

Persons: Alicja Herda, PiS, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Rafal Trzaskowski, Krzysztof Gora, Gora, Sabrina, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Alan Charlish, Nick Macfie, Mike Harrison Organizations: Equality Parade, REUTERS, Law and Justice, Warsaw, Reuters, Foundation for Life, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, WARSAW, Europe, London

Abortion rights activists have said that there were at least five cases of pregnant women dying whose families came out to the media, blaming the restrictions on abortion for their deaths. Last month, Dorota died of septic shock in a hospital after her water broke in the 20th week of pregnancy. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party leader said that by law women could have abortions if there was any threat to their life or health. "I hope the law will change and I will not be afraid to get pregnant in Poland," said Joanna Jędrasiak, 36, an economist. Reporting by Karol Badohal, Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mateusz Morawiecki, Dorota, We've, Izabela, Agnieszka Czerederecka, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, It's, IBRiS, Joanna Jędrasiak, Karol Badohal, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Anna Wlodarczak, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Justice, Radio, Thomson Locations: Europe, Warsaw, Poland, WARSAW

☆ Pro-Kyiv group reports second day of fighting in Russia's Belgorod
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Alexei Baranovsky, spokesperson for the political wing of the Freedom of Russia Legion, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Warsaw, Poland June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Kuba StezyckiJune 2 (Reuters) - A group of pro-Ukrainian forces said on Friday they were fighting Russian troops on the outskirts of a village just inside Russia's western border, a day after Moscow said it had repelled three cross-border attacks. "We have active fighting on the outskirts of the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka (in Belgorod region). Unfortunately, there are wounded legionnaires, but freedom is won through blood," the Freedom of Russia Legion said in a statement. "One of our tactical aims is to draw Russian troops from other parts of the Ukrainian front," he said in an interview in Warsaw on Thursday.

Persons: Alexei Baranovsky, Kuba, Vladimir Putin's, Tom Balmforth, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Timothy Heritage, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: of Russia Legion, Reuters, REUTERS, Russian, Russian Volunteer Corps, Russia Legion, Renault, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Russian, Moscow, Russia's, Belgorod, Ukraine, Novaya Tavolzhanka, Belgorod region, Russia, Russia's Belgorod, Ukrainian

☆ How Russians end up in a far-right militia fighting in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/3] Danil Yugoslavsky gets ready at Civic Council’s Warsaw office, hours before crossing into Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland, January 15, 2023. Max Smit, who crossed into Ukraine with Yugoslavsky, had never held a weapon before he joined the RVC. And there are some who think that fighting for the motherland is their cause," said Galeotti, naming the Rusich Group and ENOT Corp among far-right paramilitary units fighting on Russia's side. That's still a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and volunteers fighting in Ukraine, and the thousands of foreigners that have been fighting Russian forces there. According to Sokolov, RVC fighters received regular salaries from the Ukrainian defence ministry.

☆ Tennis Polish airline says it refused boarding to Russian tennis player
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tennis player Vitalia Diatchenko said on Monday she was refused boarding to a LOT flight in Cairo, with German airline Lufthansa then also refusing to sell her a ticket. The European Union has banned all flights from Russia and has agreed to limit issuing free-travel Schengen zone visas. In September, Finland joined the Baltic states and Poland in closing its borders to Russian tourists. Unlike many other sports, tennis did not introduce a blanket ban on players from Russia and its ally Belarus after the invasion of Ukraine. Russian and Belarusian players have been competing on the tours and at the other Grand Slams as neutral athletes.

[1/7] A woman prays as she participates in a march, in defense of pope John Paul II on his death anniversary in Warsaw, Poland, April 2, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper PempelWARSAW, April 2 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Poles marched through Warsaw and other cities in Poland on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the death of John Paul II 18 years ago, as allegations the late pope concealed child abuse deepen rifts in the predominantly Catholic country. "John Paul II had done nothing wrong. Earlier in the day, workers of the state-owned railway company PKP gave out cream pies favoured by the late pope to train travelers heading to Warsaw. The Polish Catholic church urged Poles to respect the late pope's memory, saying a review of its archives did not confirm the accusations against the church hierarchy, adding that some files could be opened in future.

WARSAW, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Poland aims to get training time on Leopard 2 battle tanks down to five weeks at a centre where Ukrainian soldiers are likely to be taught how to operate the Western battlefield workhorse against Russia's invasion. The village of Swietoszow in western Poland, near the German border, hosts one of just three Leopard training centres in Europe - the others are in Germany and Switzerland. "If we intensify training (by maximising the number of) instructors, our time and our weekends, we can train an entire crew in five weeks," Major Maciej Banaszynski, Poland's Leopard training centre commander, told Reuters on Tuesday. "Leopard tanks are third-generation tanks. Banaszynski said Polish instructors were running Leopard training courses for tank crews and for drivers.

☆ Ukrainians mark Orthodox Christmas in Poland with a prayer to return home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WARSAW, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Victoria, a Ukrainian refugee, is celebrating Orthodox Christmas in Poland with a simple prayer - that next year she will be back at home. "The important thing is that it's still a family holiday... We hope to celebrate next Christmas with our family back home," Victoria said. "Many of our brothers who have found themselves in Poland because of the war cannot return to their homeland. Many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, but the Russian Orthodox Church's backing for Moscow's war in Ukraine has angered many Ukrainian Orthodox believers and splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church. This year, some Ukrainians chose to celebrate Christmas with Catholics on Dec. 25 in protest at Russian aggression.

☆ Romanian court agrees to extend detention of divisive internet personality Andrew Tate by 30 days
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WARSAW, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Romanian court said on Friday that Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer, who was arrested together with his brother Tristan on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group, will remain in prison for another 30 days. Reporting by Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Polish village remembers missile victim's help for refugees
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Morticians carry the coffin during the funeral of one of two victims of a missile that hit a southeastern Polish village near the border with Ukraine, in Przewodow, Poland November 19, 2022. Two grain drying facility workers were killed when a missile crashed into the tiny village of Przewodow earlier this week while Russia was firing missiles into Ukraine. Polish authorities say it was a Ukrainian air defence weapon that went astray; Kyiv has called for further investigation. Residents said a victim buried on Saturday had played a big role when the village of barely 440 people mobilised in the early days of the war to help Ukrainian refugees, some 40,000 of whom passed through the surrounding district. The victim buried on Saturday is known as Boguslaw W. in Polish media, which have refrained from publishing both men's surnames to protect their families' privacy.

[1/4] Police officers walk near the site of an explosion in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, November 16, 2022. If this is an a mistake of the Ukrainians, there should be no major consequences, but I'm not an expert here." After a sleepless night, Byra decided to keep her school, situated some 300 metres from the blast site, open on Wednesday. "I told the parents I see no grounds to close the school but kids haven't shown up. "Since the start of the war we keep analysing the danger, it has quieted down recently, but here we are today," she said.

[1/2] People carry Polish flags and flares during a march to mark the 104th anniversary of Polish independence in Warsaw, Poland November 11, 2022. REUTERS/Kacper PempelWARSAW, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Thousands of people gathered in Warsaw on Friday for an annual march organised by Poland's far-right to mark Independence Day, with a handful carrying white supremacist or anti-gay banners and firing off red flares. Marchers, including families with children as well as representatives of far-right groups, waved white and red Polish flags and chanted "God, Honour, Homeland" as they walked through central Warsaw amid a heavy police presence. "Poland will be independent only if everybody's rights to life are equal and abortion is fully banned," said one marcher, Malgorzata Kurzeja, 42, an anti-abortion activist. Reporting by Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska, Editing by Angus MacSwan and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

If Meloni wins, Sunday's election will hand Italy its most right-wing government since World War Two. German magazine Stern plastered its front page with a picture of Meloni under the banner: "the most dangerous woman in Europe". Macron has privately told EU officials he is concerned about a Meloni victory, according to sources aware of the conversations. rome-born meloni has a history of euroscepticism and shares Orban's anti-immigration views and the promotion of traditional family values. "This kind of 'sky is falling' narrative out there about the Italian election doesn't square with our expectations," one U.S. official said.

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