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COPENHAGEN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday said he was confident that both Poland and Slovakia would continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia after imminent elections, despite recent harsh rhetoric towards Kyiv. Poland, which elects a new parliament on Oct. 15, said last week it would no longer agree to new arms deliveries to Ukraine but instead focus on rebuilding its own stocks. "I'm expecting and I'm confident that Ukraine and Poland will find a way to address those issues without that impacting in a negative way the military support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview in Copenhagen. NATO-member Slovakia has also been a staunch ally of Ukraine, sending its eastern neighbour military equipment including MiG-29 fighter jets and an S-300 air defence system. But opposition leader and former prime minister Robert Fico, who leads polls ahead of Saturday' election, has pledged to end that military support.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Ukraine's, I'm, Stoltenberg, Robert Fico, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Alison Williams, Kevin Liffey Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Copenhagen

☆ Slovaks choose between pro-Russian ex-PM Fico and pro-Western liberals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRATISLAVA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Slovaks were voting on Saturday in a parliamentary election closely fought between former leftist prime minister Robert Fico, who has pledged to end military aid for neighbouring Ukraine, and pro-Western liberals. He has kept his options open but said this week his party was closer to Fico. Fico has ridden on dissatisfaction with a bickering centre-right coalition whose government collapsed last year, triggering this election a half-year early. Fico has pledged to end military supplies to Ukraine, and to strive for peace talks. But Fico was also a pragmatic leader in the past, which foreign diplomats and analysts say could tame his foreign policy turn.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, Fico's, Michal Simecka, Peter Pellegrini, Michal Vasecka, Viktor Orban, Jan Lopatka, David W, Cerny, Peter Graff Organizations: Ukraine, Democracy, European, Thomson Locations: BRATISLAVA, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, European, Poland, Progressive Slovakia, Russia, Brussels, Prague, Bratislava

☆ A populist leader, sympathetic to Putin's Russia, could be about to win elections in Slovakia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Robert Fico, chairman of the Slovak Social Democracy (SMER), during an interview at the party headquarters in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. The central European country of 5.4 million people has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. watch nowIn more concrete terms, he has pledged to end all Slovak arms deliveries to Ukraine and resist plans for additional sanctions on Russia. Fico showed pragmatism in his previous terms and largely avoided conflicts with partners in the EU and NATO, Valyaeva added. Trading of critical comments by officials on both sides escalated the dispute, with Poland saying it will no longer supply Ukraine with weapons.

Persons: Robert Fico, Robert Fico —, —, AKO, Smer, Ján Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Fico, Slovakia's, SMER, Tatiana Valyaeva, Valyaeva Organizations: Slovak Social Democracy, Bloomberg, Getty, Ukraine, Progressive, NATO, Slovakia —, EU, CNBC, World Trade Organization Locations: Bratislava, Slovakia, Ukraine, Progressive Slovakia, Russia, U.S, Slovak, Soviet, London, Košice, Ukrainian, Poland, Hungary

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin-sympathizing candidate could win election in major Kyiv-allied country; drone strikes hit Russian power station
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A Putin-sympathizing candidate for prime minister is neck and neck with his rival progressive party in Slovakia's general election, which will take place on Saturday. Slovakia has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began, and has sent it air defense systems and MiG jets. Robert Fico — who served two prior periods as Slovakia's prime minister, from 2006 to 2010 and 2012 to 2018 — is a fierce critic of Ukraine and the EU's anti-Russian position on the war, and has vowed not to send arms to its eastern neighbor. A win for the populist leader could also fracture the EU's efforts at a unified front against Russia.

Persons: Robert Fico — Organizations: MiG, Russia Locations: Slovakia, Ukraine

☆ Euro zone inflation fell to 4.3% in September, lowest level since October 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Fresh fruit on display at a produce stall inside a covered market in central Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. Annual inflation in the euro zone cooled to its lowest level since October 2021, falling to 4.3% in September, flash figures showed Friday. The bank's most recent macroeconomic projections for the euro area anticipate inflation will average 5.6% this year, falling to 3.2% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025. Annual price rises in Germany, the biggest euro zone economy, remain well above target at 4.3%, as it also struggles with an economic contraction. Estimates from Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, put headline inflation harmonized across euro zone nations at 5.6% in France and 3.2% in Spain for September, as Slovakia and Slovenia suffer with inflation of 8.9% and 7.1%.

Persons: —, Francois Villeroy de Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, CNBC, Eurostat Locations: Madrid, Spain, Germany, France, Slovakia, Slovenia

BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Seven EU countries have ordered ammunition under a landmark European Union procurement scheme to get urgently needed artillery shells to Ukraine and replenish depleted Western stocks, according to the EU agency in charge. The scheme was set up as part of a plan worth at least 2 billion euros, launched in March with the aim of getting a million shells and missiles to Ukraine within a year. "Seven Member States have already placed orders for 155mm ammunition through the EDA’s fast-track procedure," the agency said in response to questions from Reuters. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Kyiv on Thursday that the alliance now had overarching framework contracts for 2.4 billion euros' ($2.5 billion) worth of key ammunition, including 1 billion euros of firm orders. The EDA said the EU deals were for both complete shells and for components such as fuses, projectiles, charges and primers.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, France’s CAESAR, Poland’s, Germany’s, Andrew Gray Organizations: EU, European Union, European Defence Agency, States, Reuters, NATO, Peace, Andrew Gray Our, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Ukraine, EU, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Kyiv, Europe, Ukrainian

☆ Slovak election: A NATO country could soon have a pro-Russian leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. Heger continued as a caretaker prime minister but he, too, ended up quitting in May and was replaced by a technocrat, Ludovit Odor. Eduard Heger, pictured in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2022, resigned as caretaker prime minister in May. In the Czech Republic, which used to form one country with Slovakia, 71% of people blame Russia for the war. “The government took a very quick and firm decision — and I’d say in doing so found itself on the right side of the history — to support Ukraine,” he said.

Persons: Robert Fico’s, Kyiv’s, “, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Fico, Grigorij, Jan Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Kuciak, Igor Matovič, Matovič, Eduard Heger, Heger, Ints Kalnins, ” Mesežnikov, “ SMER, GlobSec, —, Dominika Hajdu, Mesežnikov Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, NATO, Institute of Public Affairs, Voters, Independent, Republika, for Democracy, Resilience, Austro, Ukraine, “, it’s, European Union Locations: Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine, Slovak, Moscow, SMER, Tallinn, Estonia, ” Slovakia, Bratislava, Baltic, Czech Republic, States, Hungary, Trianon, “ Slovakia

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv needs 'more means' to combat Russian strikes; Kremlin says it'll do 'whatever is necessary' to win war
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv needs more weaponry to combat Russian air strikes just as its allies start to look more closely at their own depleted arms stocks. "Our warriors need more means of destroying Russian missiles, [Iranian-made] 'Shaheds' and other combat drones, as well as Russian aircraft," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. The president added that he was "grateful to everyone in the world who is already helping and is willing to ramp up assistance to our country with the means that can provide more protection against Russian terror." There are concerns that the appetite among international allies to continue supplies of weaponry is waning. Elections in Slovakia, Poland in the next week, and in the U.S. next year, could herald seismic political shifts that change how much weaponry Ukraine receives.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Locations: Slovakia, Poland, U.S, Ukraine

☆ Knife-edge Slovak election to determine stance on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Robert Fico, leader of the SMER-SSD party, Michal Simecka, leader of Progressive Slovakia party, and Peter Pellegrini, leader of HLAS party await for the televised debate to begin at TV TA3, prior to the Slovak early parliamentary election, in Bratislava, Slovakia, September 26, 2023. Fico's SMER-SSD party has a narrow lead over liberal Progressive Slovakia (PS), which has pledged to stay the course on foreign policy, in two out of four final opinion polls. Such an alliance may be reinforced if Poland's conservative PiS wins another term in October, although PiS has a hawkish view on Russia. The leading Slovak party is expected to get the first chance from liberal President Zuzana Caputova to form a cabinet. "He will stop the weapons (for Ukraine), that is what he gains support on."

Persons: Robert Fico, Michal Simecka, Peter Pellegrini, HLAS, Radovan Stoklasa, Fico's, Viktor Orban, PiS, Zuzana Caputova, Fico, Grigorij Meseznikov, Orban, embolden, Jan Lopatka, Christina Fincher Organizations: Progressive, REUTERS, EU, Reuters, NATO, Oxford, Thomson Locations: Progressive Slovakia, Bratislava, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, UKRAINE, Brussels, Hungary, Europe, Czech Republic, Poland, EU, Prague

☆ E.U. Law Sets the Stage for a Clash Over Disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Steven Lee Myers | More About Steven Lee Myers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A far-right leader posted on Facebook a photograph of refugees in Slovakia doctored to include an African man brandishing a machete. As Slovakia heads toward an election on Saturday, the country has been inundated with disinformation and other harmful content on social media sites. What is different now is a new European Union law that could force the world’s social media platforms to do more to fight it — or else face fines of up to 6 percent of a company’s revenue. The law, the Digital Services Act, is intended to force social media giants to adopt new policies and practices to address accusations that they routinely host — and, through their algorithms, popularize — corrosive content. If the measure is successful, as officials and experts hope, its effects could extend far beyond Europe, changing company policies in the United States and elsewhere.

Organizations: Facebook, European Union, Digital Services Locations: Slovakia, Egypt, Europe, United States

☆ Elon Musk's X is being used as a key 'weapon of mass manipulation' for Russian disinformation, the EU says, and warns it is 'watching' the social network
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An EU report found X has the highest proportion of Russian disinformation of any major social network. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe EU has warned that X, the social media company owned by Elon Musk, must clamp down on disinformation, after a study found that Russian propaganda was proliferating on the site. A report from the European Commission found that X, formerly Twitter, had the highest proportion of Russian disinformation of any of the major social media platforms, as Musk continues to overhaul the social network's anti-disinformation policies. The report examined 6,000 posts from Spain, Slovakia, and Poland made across a number of social media platforms. Posting on X, the company's Global Government Affairs team said that X was committed to complying with the Digital Services Act.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Musk, Vera Jourova, Mr Musk, Jourova, X Organizations: Service, Elon, Commission, Twitter, Bloomberg, European, BBC, EU, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Digital Services, company's Global Government Affairs Locations: EU, Spain, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine

☆ As Russia's war in Ukraine drags on, Kyiv's neighbors are loading up on new high-tech military gear
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia's invasion of Ukraine has upended European security, driving countries there to plan once again for the possibility of a major land war. Those European countries have transferred billions of dollars' worth of military hardware to Ukraine, and now they are seeking to rebuild their own stocks. Poland and Romania both border Ukraine and have been affected by the war. US Army/Markus RauchenbergerBased on disclosed weapon transfers, Poland is Europe's second biggest contributor of military aid to Ukraine, sending Kyiv large quantities of Soviet-era arms. AdvertisementAdvertisementPoland also announced in September a $2 billion purchase of several hundred Naval Strike Missiles from Norway.

Persons: —, Markus Rauchenberger, HIMARS, Mariusz Blaszczak, Attila Husejnow, Abrams, DANIEL MIHAILESCU, spender, Constantine Atlamazoglou Organizations: Service, US Army, Baltic Fleet, Polish, Getty, Patriot, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors, US, US State Department, Apaches, NATO, Polish Air Force, Washington, Getty Images, Naval, Missiles, Reuters, Fletcher School of Law, LinkedIn, Twitter Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Eastern Europe, Poland, Romania, Warsaw, Bucharest, Norway, NSMs, Kaliningrad, Poland's, Belarus, South Korea, Seoul, Romanian, AFP, Getty Images Romania, Eastern, Slovakia, Czech Republic

With elections scheduled in Slovakia and Poland in the coming weeks and a bloc-wide vote next year, big online platforms must address the risk of online meddling, she said. Political Cartoons View All 1182 ImagesShe was providing an update on the 27-nation EU's 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation. X is “the platform with the largest ratio of mis- or disinformation posts,” Jourova said. Under the code, online platforms agree to commit to measures aimed at reducing disinformation and have to file reports on a regular basis. After submitting “ baseline” reports, their first six-month reports outlining how they’re living up to those promises were released Tuesday.

Persons: Elon Musk, Vera Jourova, ”, “, ” Jourova, Musk, Twitter, Jourova, ’ ” Organizations: European Union, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Facebook, Twitter, European Commission, “ Twitter, Digital Services Locations: Russia, Brussels, Slovakia, Poland, Spain

☆ Russia smells blood as Ukraine tries to stop war fatigue spreading among allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a meeting with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2023. One noted Russian academic, historian and author Sergei Medvedev said he's worried about Western resolve in Ukraine, saying, "I think the West is tiring." Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during The Strong Ideas For The New Times Forum on June 29, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. Getty ImagesWhen a very public rift erupted between Poland and Ukraine last week, the Kremlin was quick to seize upon the tensions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Sept. 21, 2023.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden, Jim Watson, Russia —, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Medvedev, he's, Trump, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Rava, Yuriy Dyachyshyn, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mateusz Morawiecki, Teneo, Kevin Lamarque, Ian Bremmer, Zelenskyy, let's, Andrzej Duda Organizations: White, AFP, Getty, Republicans, CNBC, Kremlin, New Times Forum, Agency for Strategic Initiatives, Putin's, European Commission, World Trade Organization, General Assembly, Kyiv, Teneo, U.S, Republican, Ukraine, Reuters, Eurasia Group, Trump, Sunday Locations: Washington ,, Ukraine, Russia, Europe, U.S, Poland, Slovakia, Russian, Moscow, Warsaw, Kyiv, Polish, Hungary, New York City

☆ Opinion: Ukraine’s bumpy road ahead just got rockier
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

David A. Andelman David AndelmanThat is the clearest and most present danger to the security of Europe and the entire Western alliance. Fissures are appearing across the hitherto united Western front that can only be sending shivers of joy up Putin’s spine. Putin quite rightly appreciated the stakes — and the opportunity — when he first launched his heartless blockade of Ukraine’s grain, grain that helps feed not only Europe but also vast stretches of Africa now plunged into the threat of devastating hunger. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the UN General Assembly last week in New York City. The EU is weighing up a mammoth four-year, 20 billion euro ($21.3 billion) fund to finance weapons purchases for Ukraine.

Persons: David A, David Andelman, Vladimir Putin, shivers, Putin, Hungary —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Bryan R, Smith, hasn’t, ”, Mateusz Morawiecki, Andrzej Duda, Robert Fico, Fico, Olaf Scholz, —, Mitch McConnell, “, ” Robert I, Harvard Kennedy Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, America, Republicans, NATO, European Union, UN, Assembly, Getty, Smer Party, ”, World Trade Organization, Ukraine, North, Times, Harvard Kennedy School’s Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Africa, Poland, Slovakia, Bialobrzegi, Warsaw, Hungary, New York City, AFP, New York, Moscow, ” Polish, Banovce nad Bebravou, ” Ukraine, EU, Russia, North Korea, Zelensky, London, America, China, ” China

Concerns have mounted in recent months about a spate of disinformation related to parliamentary elections in Slovakia on Sept. 30 and Poland next month as well as European Parliament elections next year. The companies and other online platforms have submitted data on their activity in the last six months to fight fake news as part of the EU code of practice on disinformation. "Today, this is a multi-million euro weapon of mass manipulation ..."The 'very large platforms' must address this risk. Especially as we have to expect that the Kremlin and others will be active before elections." After the last European Parliament elections in 2019, Russia's Security Council described accusations that Moscow had spread disinformation to sway voters as absurd.

Persons: Vera Jourova, John Thys, Alphabet's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russia's Wagner, Jourova, Elon, Musk, Meta, Foo Yun Chee, Kevin Liffey Organizations: European Commission, General Affairs Council, Rights, Google, Microsoft, Kremlin, Russia's Security, Internet Research Agency, Digital Services, Twitter, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Luxembourg, Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, Slovakia, Poland, Moscow, Washington, Russia, Ukraine

"The UK has been one of the real leaders in climate diplomacy and in their own emissions reductions," Ireland’s climate minister Eamon Ryan told Reuters. But according to the Climate Change Committee’s June 2023 progress report to parliament, to hit mid-way climate targets, Britain must quadruple its annual emissions reductions outside the electricity supply sector by 2030. He said he was changing the policy because previous governments had moved too quickly to set net zero targets, without securing the support of the public. Delaying net zero transition investments could prove politically popular, analysts observed, if an election was on the horizon. But "this framing only works if you think climate policy is a burden", said Bob Ward, a climate policy researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science, adding that avoiding short-term costs was likely to lead to a greater bill for taxpayers down the road.

Persons: Eamon Ryan, Rishi Sunak, Bob Ward, Britain's, Simone Tagliapietra, Sunak’s, Philip Dunne, Susanna Twidale, Gloria Dickie, Kate Abnett, Elizabeth Piper, Ed Osmond, Alison Williams Organizations: Reuters, United Nations, London School of Economics, Political, Global, Thomson Locations: Britain, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Netherlands, Brussels, U.S, London

☆ Poland to check vehicles crossing Slovak border amid migrant surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWARSAW, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Poland will introduce checks on vehicles crossing the border from Slovakia, the prime minister said on Monday, in measures to stem the flow of immigrants. Meanwhile, Slovakia has been struggling with a surge in illegal migrants. The number of illegal migrants detained in Slovakia has increased nine-fold from a year ago to more than 27,000 so far this year, according to the country's interior ministry. Morawiecki said that Scholz's words could be a preparation for closing the border with Poland. Muller had said that the government does not rule out also strengthening controls on the border with Germany.

Persons: Mateusz Morawiecki, Kamala Harris, Jonathan Ernst, Morawiecki, Piotr Muller, Muller, Olaf Scholz, adressing Scholz, Alan Charlish, Anna Koper, Andrew Cawthorne, Hugh Lawson, Alison Williams Organizations: Poland's, U.S, White, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Rights, Law and Justice, Slovak, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Poland, Slovakia, Warsaw, Polish, Germany

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian airstrikes on Sunday killed two people and wounded three others in southern Ukraine's Kherson province, the region's governor reported Sunday as the war in Ukraine entered a 20th month. Oleksandr Prokudin, Russian forces struck the city of Beryslav, destroying an unspecified number of private houses. The Kursk region of Russia borders Ukraine and also is a frequent target of attacks. There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian authorities, who usually don't acknowledge responsibility for attacks on Russian territory. ___For more coverage of the war in Ukraine, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Persons: Oleksandr Prokudin, Prokudin, Roman Starovoit, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Mateusz Morawiecki Organizations: Sunday, Gov, Federal Security Service, General, Twitter, ”, World Trade Organization, European Union Locations: KYIV, Ukraine, Ukraine's Kherson, Beryslav, Lvove, Ukrainian, Kherson, Russia, Kursk, “, North America, Canada, Poland, Europe, ” Poland, Kyiv, Warsaw, Hungary, Slovakia, Polish, russia, ukraine

☆ Russian airstrikes kill 2 and wound 3 in southern Ukraine as war enters 20th month
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A local resident clear the rubbles of his destroyed following Russian missiles strike in Kherson on August 14, 2023, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine. Russian airstrikes on Sunday killed two people and wounded three others in southern Ukraine's Kherson province, the region's governor reported Sunday as the war in Ukraine entered its 20th month. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone hit an administrative building in the city of Kursk and "insignificantly damaged" the roof, regional Gov. The Kursk region of Russia borders Ukraine and also is a frequent target of attacks. His remarks left many wondering if the Western resolve to support Ukraine in the war with Russia is waning.

Persons: Oleksandr Prokudin, Prokudin, Roman Starovoit, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Poland, Vladimir Putin, Mateusz Morawiecki Organizations: Russian, Sunday, Gov, Federal Security Service, General, Twitter, World Trade Organization, European Union Locations: Kherson, Ukraine, Ukraine's Kherson, Beryslav, Lvove, Ukrainian, Russia, Kursk, North America, Canada, Poland, Europe, Kyiv, Warsaw, Hungary, Slovakia, Polish

☆ Never ‘insult Poles again,’ Poland’s prime minister tells Ukraine’s Zelensky
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Maija Ehlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has told Volodymyr Zelensky never to “insult Poles again” after the Ukrainian president suggested his neighbor was putting on a show over their disputes on grain exports. “I want to tell President Zelensky never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN,” he said. “The Polish people will never allow this to happen, and defending the good name of Poland is not only my duty and honor, but also the most important task of the Polish government,” the Polish prime minister added. Most Western military equipment and other supplies get to Ukraine through Poland and the country is hosting 1.6 million Ukrainian refugees, according to the United Nations. According to the Kiel Institute’s tracker on how much nations have donated to Ukraine, Poland has pledged 4.27 billion euros (about $4.54 billion), in a combination of military, financial and humanitarian aid.

Persons: CNN —, Mateusz Morawiecki, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Morawiecki, Zelensky, “, Slovakia –, Zelensky’s, Andrzej Duda, Ukraine’s, Vladimir Putin’s Organizations: CNN, CNN — Poland’s, United Nations, UN, EU, Eastern, Ukrainian, Kiel Locations: Polish, Zelensky, Poland, Europe, Swidnik, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukrainian, Warsaw, United States, Soviet

☆ Poland's arms spat with Ukraine has angered many in Europe, and it's only good news for Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A senior EU diplomat told CNN: “Ukraine already offered Poland a solution on grain. The country is currently trying to join both the EU and NATO, for which it has unanimous support. Most EU member states accept that in order to accommodate Ukraine, there will need to be substantial reform to how the EU operates. The final reason that officials across Europe are furious about this week’s events is that it hands Russian President Vladimir Putin a propaganda coup. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the spat, used it to say “there are certain tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia’s, Zelensky, Mateusz Morawiecki, Andrzej Duda, Angela Weiss, Wojtek Jargilo, ”, –, Poland –, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, European Union, EU, Justice, UN, Getty, NATO, “, EU Commission, Kremlin Locations: Poland, Warsaw, Kyiv, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Europe, Polish, ” Poland, New York City, ”, Russia, EU, “ Ukraine, “, Brussels

☆ Polish PM tells Ukraine's Zelenskiy 'never to insult Poles again'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Alan Charlish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Polish President Andrzej Duda commemorate victims of World War II at the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Lutsk, Ukraine July 9, 2023. REUTERS/Alina Smutko/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWARSAW, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Poland's prime minister told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday not to "insult" Poles, maintaining harsh rhetoric towards Kyiv after the Polish president had sought to defuse a simmering row over grain imports. "I... want to tell President Zelenskiy never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the U.N.," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told an election rally. Slovakia, Poland and Hungary imposed national restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports after the European Union executive decided not to extend its ban on imports into those countries and fellow EU members Bulgaria and Romania. "In defence of the Polish farmer I will never hesitate to take such a decision."

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Andrzej Duda, Saint Peter, Paul Cathedral, Alina Smutko, Zelenskiy, Mateusz Morawiecki, PiS, Duda, Zbigniew Rau, Rau, Morawiecki, Alan Charlish, Pawel, Alex Richardson, Jonathan Oatis, Gareth Jones Organizations: Saint, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations General Assembly, Kyiv, Law and Justice, Analysts, Politico, NATO, European Union, EU, Warsaw, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Lutsk, Poland, Russia, New York, Moscow, Kyiv, Polish, Ukrainian, UKRAINE, Warsaw, EU, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania

☆ Russia Says It Sees Growing Friction Between Ukraine and Poland, West
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia sees tension between Poland and Ukraine growing in the future after a spat over grain exports, and expects further rifts to develop between Kyiv and its Western allies, the Kremlin said on Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting on Poland's announcement this week that it would not send new arms deliveries to Ukraine. That would suit Moscow, which casts the conflict as a proxy war in which the West is using Ukraine to try to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia. Poland said this week it would not deliver new arms to Ukraine, beyond existing agreements, because it needed to prioritise its own defence. Peskov said Poland's posture was a problem for its neighbour Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Peter Graff Organizations: Kremlin, Ukraine, Reuters Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Kyiv, Warsaw, Moscow, Slovakia, United States, Belarus

☆ Conservative women leaders make their entrance at the UN General Assembly
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Stephanie Fillion | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

United Nations CNN —When Jacinda Ardern brought her baby Neve to the United Nations for the 2018 General Assembly, then-New Zealand Prime Minister became an emblematic figure of modern women in politics. But women attending the annual top rendezvous of diplomacy have remained a minority, and the UN General Assembly this year is no different. “This perpetuates the cycle,” Susana Malcorra, a former foreign minister of Argentina and president of Global Women Leaders Voices, said. Of course, not all the women leaders attending UNGA are on the far side of the political spectrum. It was Čaputová’s last General Assembly as president of her country, as she announced a few months ago she won’t seek reelection in 2024 for personal reasons.

Persons: Jacinda Ardern, Neve, ” Susana Malcorra, Katalin Novak, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, “ Meloni, ” Richard Gowan, Katalin Novák, Viktor Orbán, it’s, Novák, Orban, Novak, ”, Mike Segar, Dina Boluarte, Peru’s, Pedro Castillo, Boluarte, UNGA, Zuzana, Maia Sandu, Nataša Pirc Musar, –, Sheikh Hasina, Mia Mottley, Bob Marley, Xiomara Castro, Ursula von der Leyen, Kristalina Georgieva, Ngozi, Natalie Portman Organizations: United Nations CNN, United Nations, Zealand, UN, Assembly, Global, Italian, Ukraine, Crisis, United Nations Security Council, Reuters, Security Council, Slovenia, Big Apple, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization Locations: New York, Argentina, Italy, Ukraine, Slovakia, Moldova, Barbados, New York City, Honduras

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