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☆ Ukraine is getting Soviet-era fighter jets from Poland after Germany approves transfer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Poland will provide Ukraine with five Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. The jets originally belonged to East Germany during the Soviet era and were sold to Warsaw. Poland obtained the MiG-29 jets from Germany in the early 2000s, according to media reports. Poland has said it was willing to provide Ukraine with its entire fleet of 28 MiG-29s. "So far, everyone has agreed that it's not the time to send fighter jets," Pistorius said just last month.

As a result, the stakes of the inaugural trip by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have risen, with many EU members hoping Berlin will use this opportunity to set out a clear and united EU line on China, analysts said. Baerbock must now make Germany's position on Taiwan clear during her visit, German foreign policy parliamentarian Nils Schmid told Reuters, adding Macron's remarks had destroyed a hoped-for impetus for a common European China policy. The foreign minister is due to meet her counterpart Qin Gang and China's top diplomat Wang Yi on the two-day trip. Europe's view of China as partner, competitor and systemic rival is the compass of its policy, she added. "More von der Leyen than Macron should be her guideline," conservative foreign policy lawmaker Johann Wadephul, who will join Baerbock on her trip, told Reuters.

☆ Poland aims to set up Abrams tank service centre for Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, April 12 (Reuters) - Poland aims to become the service centre for U.S.-made Abrams tanks in Europe, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday during a visit to the United States. "I want a service centre for Abrams tanks for the whole of Europe, for maintaining their battle readiness, to be located in Poland. "We are also striving for the production of depleted uranium ammunition cores for the Abrams to be located in Poland." Poland, a close ally of the United States within NATO, has ordered 250 state-of-the-art Abrams battle tanks in addition to 116 modernised ones. "...I have confirmation that by June at the latest 14 Abrams tanks will be delivered to Poland...", he said, adding that these would replace Soviet-era tanks his country had donated to Ukraine to help fight off Russia's invasion.

☆ Kyiv compares Russia to Islamic State after beheading video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KYIV, April 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine compared Russia on Wednesday to Islamic State and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate after a video emerged online showing apparent Russian soldiers filming themselves beheading a Ukrainian captive with a knife. "There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video message. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Twitter: "A horrific video of Russian troops decapitating a Ukrainian prisoner of war is circulating online. Ukraine's domestic security agency said it had started an investigation into a suspected war crime over the video. As well as the purported execution, another video shows mutilated bodies of apparent Ukrainian prisoners of war, it said.

[1/4] Chinese President Xi Jinping and France's President Emmanuel Macron meet at the Guandong province governor's residence, in Guangzhou, China, Friday, April 7, 2023. Macron's comments came in an interview on a trip to China that was meant to showcase European unity on China policy, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also taking part, but highlighted differences within the European Union. A senior diplomat from Central and Eastern Europe, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "President Macron is not speaking for Europe or the European Union. The French foreign ministry cancelled a planned debrief on the trip for foreign diplomats in Paris on Tuesday as officials scrambled to make sure they had a consistent message and to limit any fallout with Washington. But even some of those broadly supportive of Macron's agenda lamented the handling of the China trip, in which von der Leyen received a much more muted welcome than the French president.

☆ Central Europe's policymakers double down on hawkish message
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As central Europe's central banks were faster than their major peers to hike rates, they had also been expected to lead the way in easing. That message was underlined on Thursday when February data showed industrial wage growth in the double digits. "We do not expect a rate hike," it said after the Czech policy meeting last week. CEE inflation pushing past a peakThe Polish central bank also struck somewhat hawkish tones at its news conference on Thursday after holding rates steady. Romania's central bank left rates unchanged on Tuesday and said inflation may come down faster than previously thought.

Strikes have rolled through France, Portugal, Britain and Germany in recent weeks and could cause air travel disruption in parts of Europe through the Easter holidays, officials at airlines, airports and air traffic authorities told Reuters. There's no doubt about it," said Steven Moore, who is in charge of air traffic management operations at Eurocontrol. Airlines say they have to pay compensation without themselves getting compensated for air traffic delays. Consumer groups say air traffic control strikes are not new and airlines should be quicker to react and pay compensation. He called last week on the European Commission to do more to stop such strikes hitting overflights, by introducing minimum service rules, though industry experts say strikes are a national issue.

☆ Ukraine says coveted F-16s 'four or five times' better than its Soviet jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, April 6 (Reuters) - A top Ukrainian air commander said Ukraine was in dire need of F-16 fighter jets, which he described on Thursday as "four or five times" more effective than the Soviet-era planes currently used by Ukraine. Serhiy Holubtsov, one of the most senior commanders in the Air Force, said that while donations of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets by allies were an "important step," the planes did not fully meet Ukraine's battlefield requirements. NATO members Poland and Slovakia recently began to hand over MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, as Kyiv prepares for a much-vaunted counter-offensive to retake territory occupied by Russia. Washington has ruled out sending F-16 jets to Ukraine for now, and U.S. officials have estimated the most expeditious time needed for training and delivery at 18 months. Holubtsov said there was a possibility of having foreign pilots fly Ukrainian jets, but that they would only be useful when flying aircraft which they have already been trained on.

☆ Ukraine pushes for Western warplane 'coalition'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A MiG-29 and F-35 planes are parked on a tarmac during a NATO media event at an airbase in Malbork, Poland, March 21, 2023. During a visit to Warsaw on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said Poland had been instrumental in getting Western allies to send battle tanks to Ukraine and he believed it could play the same role in a "planes coalition". MACRON IN CHINAEuropean Union executive head Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to discuss Ukraine during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. The U.S. and NATO have said China is considering sending arms to Russia, which Beijing has denied. 'SHOULDER TO SHOULDER'Polish President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw was working to secure additional security guarantees for Ukraine at a NATO summit to be held in Lithuania in July.

☆ Russia Strengthens Defenses in Occupied Ukraine as Zelensky Visits Poland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Matthew Luxmoore | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Poland Wednesday as Kyiv continues to urge Western allies for military and financial support as it gears up for a counteroffensive to try to oust Russian forces occupying swaths of its territory. Mr. Zelensky’s visit to Polish capital Warsaw is the first foreign trip by the Ukrainian leader announced in advance by Kyiv, after recent trips to the U.S. and several European capitals that were kept secret for security considerations.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Nvidia, Palantir, Western Alliance, Johnson & Johnson and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Western Alliance Bancorporation logo is seen in this photo illustration on 13 March, 2023 in Warsaw, Poland. This development would give U.S. government customers and industry partners access to enterprise-grade capabilities by Palantir and Microsoft. Western Alliance also said it has enough liquidity to cover the remaining uninsured deposits. Johnson & Johnson — Shares rose about 3%. Conagra Brands — The packaged goods food company rose 3% after topping Wall Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines for the recent quarter, according to FactSet.

☆ Polish agriculture minister resigns amid anger over Ukrainian grain imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, April 5 (Reuters) - Polish Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk resigned from his post on Wednesday amid rising anger among farmers over the impact of Ukrainian grain imports on prices. Kowalczyk said he decided to quit the position due to the European Commission's decision to extend duty free imports for Ukrainain grain until June 2024. Polish farmers had called for the introduction of tariffs. "As it is clear that this demand will not be met by the European Commission at this point, I decided to resign from the post of agriculture minister," Kowalczk said. The prime ministers of five states including Poland wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday to demand action on Ukrainian agricultural imports.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy heads to Poland to deepen ties with key Western ally
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kacper PempelKYIV, April 5 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected shortly in neighbouring Poland, a close ally that has played a big role in galvanising Western military and political support for Kyiv against Russia's full-scale invasion. Poland has taken in more than a million Ukrainian refugees over the past 13 months of war. The NATO member has also played an important role in persuading other Western powers to supply battle tanks and other weaponry to Ukraine. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Tuesday that Kyiv was grateful to Poland for clearing the way for deliveries of MiG fighter jets. "During talks with President Zelenskiy, we will certainly discuss Ukrainian grain and various agricultural products, because we want any trade with Ukraine not to destabilise our market," Morawiecki said.

☆ Ukraine will take 'corresponding' decisions if troops risk encirclement in Bakhmut - Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, April 5 (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops face a really difficult situation in the eastern city of Bakhmut, but Kyiv will take the "corresponding" decisions to protect them if they risk being encircled by Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday. The Ukrainian leader told a news conference in Poland that Kyiv's forces in Bakhmut sometimes advanced a little only to be pushed back by Russian forces, but that they remained inside the city. Ukrainian forces have held out against a Russian onslaught there with heavy losses on both sides. His trip comes with Ukraine expected to launch a counteroffensive to seize back land in the south and east from Russian forces in the coming weeks or months. Zelenskiy said that the more ammunition Ukraine receives from Western partners, the faster it would be able fight back in Bakhmut and elsewhere.

☆ Zelenskiy says Poland will help form coalition to supply warplanes to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Poland's President Andrzej Duda and first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and first lady Olena Zelenska stand at the Royal Castle courtyard during a visit in Warsaw, Poland, April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper PempelKYIV, April 5 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said during a trip to Warsaw on Wednesday that Poland would help form a coalition of Western powers to supply warplanes to Ukraine, as it did with battle tanks earlier this year. "Just as your (Polish) leadership proved itself in the tank coalition, I believe that it will manifest itself in the planes coalition," Zelenskiy said in a speech on a square in Warsaw. The Ukrainian leader said Russia would not defeat Europe while Ukraine and Poland were working closely together. "Poland with you, shoulder to shoulder, we will establish freedom in Europe forever, tyranny will lose in history when it loses in Ukraine," he said.

☆ Polish central bank leaves main interest rate unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, April 5 (Reuters) - Poland's central bank held its main interest rate at 6.75% on Wednesday, as expected, and said it believes weakening gross domestic product growth, together with already implemented rate hikes, would help gradually curb inflation. The central bank's Monetary Policy Council now hopes that the rate hikes it has already implemented will see price growth return to single digits before the end of the year. Central bank governor Adam Glapinski has previously said that he expects inflation to fall to single digits around the beginning of September, paving the way for interest rate cuts in the fourth quarter. Investors are now waiting for more insight into the central bank's thinking when Glapinski holds a news conference on Thursday. On Tuesday, Romania's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 7.00%.

☆ Ukraine's tech entrepreneurs fight war on a different front
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Michael Kahn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

It's an example of how some startups in Ukraine's dynamic tech sector are switching to pursue military projects. Pavlo Kartashov, director of the Ukrainian Startup Fund (USF), a government-backed organization that seeds technology startups, told Reuters his group resumed funding in October. Demand from the government has driven the shift to military technology, but most of the entrepreneurs who spoke to Reuters said that patriotic duty also played a role. "There are much more ideas in military technology," said Krasovsky, the founder and chief executive of Swedish-Ukrainian Sigma Software Group. Groups like the Polish-Ukrainian Start Up Bridge - a Polish-government backed venture - offer emerging Ukrainian tech companies small grants to fund basic business needs and a co-working space in Warsaw.

☆ IOC stance on Russians, Belarusians 'painful', says Wlodarczyk
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bronze medalist Malwina Kopron of Poland watches gold medalist Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland celebrate on the podium REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File PhotoApril 3 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) recommendation to let Russian and Belarusian athletes return to international competition is painful, three-times hammer throw champion Anita Wlodarczyk said on Monday, hoping the decision would change. The IOC sanctioned Russia and Belarus after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but recommended last week that their athletes compete internationally as neutrals. It should be a top-down message that athletes from both countries should not compete," added the 37-year-old Wlodarczyk. "I will still stand by my decision that they should be excluded (from all international competitions)," Wlodarczyk said. "I hope that this decision will change in the coming months and that the Russians and Belarusians will not be allowed in."

[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.

☆ Turkey formally approves Finland's NATO membership, in setback for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Adem Altan | Afp | Getty ImagesTurkey's parliament voted unanimously to formally approve Finland's membership to NATO on Thursday, marking a historic step for the traditionally nonaligned Nordic country that shares an 830-mile border with Russia. Turkey and Hungary remained the final holdouts standing in the way of the Nordic states' accession to the 74-year old alliance. Turkey joined NATO in 1952, and has the second-largest military in the alliance after the United States. Finland lifted its nearly three-year-long arms embargo on Turkey in January as part of its effort to improve the two countries' relations. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that Turkey would approve his country's NATO bid.

☆ Poland's CD Projekt posts 66% profit leap
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Adrianna Ebert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A bird flies in front of the Cd Projekt logo at its headquarters in Warsaw, Poland January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Kacper PempelGDANSK, March 30 (Reuters) - Poland's biggest game developer CD Projekt (CDR.WA) on Thursday posted a 66% leap in full-year net profit to 347.1 million zlotys ($81 million), boosted by higher sales of flagship titles "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" and "Cyberpunk 2077". "A large portion of this profit – over 200 million zlotys – was invested in our future development projects." This year CD Projekt stands before the premiere of the highly-anticipated first and only expansion to Cyberpunk 2077 under title Phantom Liberty with marketing campaign starting in June. CD Projekt has sold over 20 million copies of Cyberpunk 2077, with Wither trilogy sales exceeding 65 million copies.

Repsol says the plant, which transforms used cooking oil into so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), has attracted plenty of customers. But it is concerned Europe's investment environment will complicate the industry's efforts to take off. "Europe needs to step up and throw its weight behind a domestic SAF industry to ensure it does not fall behind." That's a bit under 1% of global aviation fuel demand," said Jonathan Wood, Neste's vice-president of renewable aviation. "America's programme of both federal and state incentives for SAF production is the mark of global leadership on the net-zero transition," IAG told Reuters.

☆ IOC issues recommendations for Russian athletes' return to competitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The IOC Executive Board's recommendations concern the return of those athletes to international competitions but not the 2024 Paris Olympics where a separate decision will be taken at a later date. He said the recommendations for events organisers and sports federations to follow included that Russian and Belarusian athletes can only compete as neutrals, with no flag or anthem. "I am disappointed by the IOC recommendations," Lipavsky wrote on Twitter. "The parameters as announced are absolutely unacceptable," Russian Olympic Committee president Pozdnyakov told a news conference, according to Russian news agencies. PARTICIPATION WORKSBach had earlier told the IOC Executive Board that Russian and Belarusian athletes were already competing daily in many sports without facing problems.

☆ Polish council recommends banning TikTok on public administration phones - media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WARSAW, March 27 (Reuters) - A Polish government advisory body has recommended banning the use of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on the work phones of public administration employees, Polish media reported on Monday. "The Digitization Council expresses a positive opinion regarding the order to remove the Chinese TikTok application by public administration officials and employees from their work phones," it was quoted as saying in the recommendation by wyborcza.pl website. The recommendations of the Council are not binding for the government. A string of Western governments and institutions have banned TikTok in recent weeks, including the UK parliament, the Dutch and Belgian administrations and the New Zealand parliament. Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin's war turned this quiet Polish airport into a global military hub where passenger jets touch down alongside Patriot missiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport is just 50 miles from Poland's border with Ukraine. He told Insider: "I realized that a great challenge was ahead of us and that any mistake on our part couldn't be an option." Hamryszczak told Insider that he had to rise to "countless" challenges, including making complex arrangements with world leaders and welcoming the world's media. Air Force One is "the most famous aircraft that has ever visited our airport," Hamryszczak said. "This is no longer the same regional airport that operated in 2021, or even before the pandemic," Hamryszczak told Insider.

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