Tag: poland

Russia Rejects Allegations Of Missile Attack On Poland, Slamming “Deliberate Provocation”

Russia has issued its first statements in the wake of conflicting reporting concerning the suspected missile attack on Polish territory, just across the border with Ukraine. Russia is calling the reports a “deliberate provocation” and is denying that its forces have aimed any missiles near the Ukraine-Poland border, per Interfax news. 

The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement saying it has not taken part in “strikes against targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border” using “Russian weapons” – as is being alleged by Polish sources. The Russian statement further said it’s Warsaw’s attempt to escalate the situation. The Pentagon has meanwhile said it can’t corroborate the reports at this early stage but is gathering more information. A Pentagon spokesman vowed the US stands ready to “defend every inch of NATO territory.”

According to Polish radio broadcaster Radio Zet, local reports have said what hit Przewowo is most likely the remains of a rocket shot down by Ukraine’s armed forces. But there are conflicting and many unconfirmed claims still circulating. The US State Dept. said, “We are working with the Polish government to collect information and assess what happened.” It also called the reports “incredibly concerning.” 

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At least two dead after Russian missiles land in NATO state Poland on Ukraine border

Two people have been killed in Poland after two stray Russian rockets landed near the border with Ukraine. 

The rockets landed in the NATO state following Russia’s mass bombardment of Ukrainian cities earlier today, which saw over 100 rockets launched. 

According to the AP news agency, a senior US intelligence official said that the missiles were of Russian origin.

Poland’s Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has convened the Committee of the Council of Ministers for National Security and Defense Affairs “as a matter of urgency”, government spokesman Piotr Müller confirmed, with local news sites claiming this is likely the result of the explosions. 

The rockets fell in the town of Przewodów, hitting grain dryers. The police, prosecutor’s office and the army are reportedly already on the site.

Meanwhile, Polish Armed Forces are reportedly on “high alert”.

Some analysts have suggested the rockets’ intended target may have been Lviv, a Ukrainian city about 100km south of Przewodów.

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Archeologists Unearth ‘Vampire’ Buried in Poland Pinned By Sickle in Her Grave

The local population has believed that some of their neighbors could be vampires and return from the dead to feast on the living for centuries. The superstition led to some unusual burial techniques for those suspected to be a vampire. How locals determined if a person was undead, however, remains unclear.

Archeologists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland have unearthed an unusual, if not unique, grave of a “vampire” – at least so thought to be by relatives or those who buried her near the city of Pień, Poland in the 17th century.

Was it the pale skin, nasty temperament, midnight shenanigans or distaste for garlic and silverware? Researchers do not know what led locals to believe that the woman was a vampire, but they sure did try to make sure she never rose from the grave again. The deceased was pinned in her tomb by a sickle, with the sharp edge touching her neck so that if she had second thoughts about dying, she would cut her head off trying to escape the coffin.

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White House Says It’s Working With Poland To Get Jets To Ukraine – Warsaw Responds: “Fake News”

Ukraine’s President Zelensky has been urging the United States and NATO countries that his military desperately needs more fighter jets to take on the Russian invasion force, on Friday telling US lawmakers in a Zoom call “close the skies or give us planes” – according to a Congressional leader present for the address.

Apparently the Biden administration is busy working on just that, also at a moment Congress is still prepping a whopping $10 billion military and humanitarian aide package for Ukraine. The new aircraft deal would involve transferring Russian-made warplanes to Kiev from neighboring Poland, according to a new report in FT. 

To expedite the deal – given the battlefield situation and Ukraine’s ability to defend itself depends largely on the speediness of getting sufficient arms – Washington would quickly replace Warsaw’s MiG-29 jets with F-16 fighters.

However, a White House official was quoted in the FT report as admitting the deal could be held up by “a number of challenging practical questions, including how the planes could actually be transferred from Poland to Ukraine.”

Further there’s the question of recent threat’s by Vladimir Putin himself against any country seeking to pour more weapons into the hands of the Ukrainian forces. Putin days ago issued a veiled threat of war against any country supplying weapons that are use to kill Russian soldiers, saying those outside nations would “bear the responsibility”. 

A White House spokesperson had confirmed to FT that “We are also working on the capabilities we could provide to backfill Poland if it decided to transfer planes to Ukraine.” And previously Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is “very actively” looking at resupplying Poland if it can quickly transfer its own Russian-made aircraft to Ukraine. 

“We are looking actively now at the question of airplanes that Poland may provide to Ukraine and looking at how we might be able to backfill should Poland decide to supply those planes,” Blinken said in Moldova, while on a trip that highlighted the growing refugee crisis from the war.

Crucially, there was this statement from an unnamed Polish official given to FT: “I can’t speak to a timeline but I can just say we’re looking at it very, very actively.” The official said further, “Poland is not in a state of war with Russia, but it is not an impartial country, because it supports Ukraine as the victim of aggression. It considers, however, that all military matters must be a decision of Nato as a whole.”

On Saturday, perhaps nervous about coming into Russia’s crosshairs amid the flurry of reporting, Poland’s government batted down the reports as “fake news” – saying there’s been no transfer of its aircraft to Ukraine nor does it intend to…

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Poland to fine social media giants $2.2m every time they censor free speech

A new law is due to be passed in Poland that would fine Big Tech firms a staggering $2.2 million every time they unconstitutionally censor lawful free speech online.

While liberal governments in western nations seek to fine social media giants Facebook and Twitter for failing to remove so-called “hate speech,” Poland is taking a refreshingly different approach.

“Under its provisions, social media services will not be allowed to remove content or block accounts if the content on them does not break Polish law.”

“In the event of removal or blockage, a complaint can be sent to the platform, which will have 24 hours to consider it.”

“Within 48 hours of the decision, the user will be able to file a petition to the court for the return of access. The court will consider complaints within seven days of receipt and the entire process is to be electronic.”

Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro made clear that the legal initiative was designed to fight censorship.

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