Poland

Russian diplomats spurned in Europe's capitals

WARSAW/VILNIUS, May 11 (Reuters) - Russian diplomat Sergiy Andreev was feeling unwelcome on the streets of Warsaw even before protesters doused him with red liquid thrown in his face at short range this week.

Soon after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Andreev, who is Moscow's ambassador in Poland, found the embassy bank accounts had been frozen. Attempts to meet with Polish officials for any level of diplomatic discussion were impossible, he said.

His regular barber refused to cut his hair. Insurance companies denied coverage for embassy cars, Andreev said.

Russian ambassador to Poland hit with red paint

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Russia’s ambassador to Poland was splattered with red paint thrown at him by protesters opposed to the war in Ukraine, preventing him from paying respects on Monday at a Warsaw cemetery to Red Army soldiers who died during World War II.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the attack, saying on her messaging app channel that “we won’t be scared” while the “people of Europe should be scared to see their reflection in a mirror.”

War has shown Zelenskyy’s true qualities to all, wife says

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, says the war with Russia has not changed her husband but only revealed to the world his determination to prevail and the fact that he is a man you can rely on.

Zelenska, in an interview published Friday in the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, also said she has not seen her husband, 44-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy, since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia halts gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria

WARSAW/SOFIA/KYIV, April 27 (Reuters) - Russia halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland on Wednesday for rejecting its demand for payment in roubles, taking direct aim at European economies in a move that also exposed divisions in the EU on how to respond to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The decision, denounced by European leaders as "blackmail", comes as Russia's own economy wilts under sweeping international sanctions and as Western countries ramp up arms shipments to help Ukraine fend off a new Russian assault in the east.

Poland intends to cancel oil supply contracts with Russia, says energy official

WARSAW, April 22. /TASS/: Poland considers the cancellation of oil supply contracts that were previously concluded with Russia, Polish Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski said on Radio Wnet on Friday.

Asked whether Warsaw plans to cancel oil supply contracts with Russia, Naimski said that there are such plans. "There is an intention to cancel oil contracts. This is absolutely realistic. Anyone who produces crude oil may be a source of supplies to Poland," he said.

Ukraine war refugees top 5 million as assault intensifies

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — After spending weeks with no electricity or water in the basement of her family’s home in Ukraine, Viktoriya Savyichkina made a daring escape from the besieged city of Mariupol with her 9- and 14-year-old daughters.

Their dwelling for now is a huge convention center in Poland’s capital. Savyichkina said she saw a photo of the home in Mariupol destroyed. From a camp bed in a foreign country, the 40-year-old bookeeper thinks about restarting her and her children’s lives from square one.

Polish authorities in Warsaw occupy Russian diplomatic real estate — Russian ambassador

WARSAW, April 11. /TASS/: Polish authorities have occupied a building in Warsaw, which is Russian diplomatic real estate, Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev told Russian journalists on Monday.

"This morning, bailiffs arrived to the object of our diplomatic property in Warsaw at Sobieski, 100 and demanded to give the Polish state treasury represented by the Warsaw City Hall this building," the ambassador said.

Poland-Ukraine ties seen as target of Russian disinformation

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Days before Poland’s Independence Day in November, vandals painted the blue-and-yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag on monuments in Krakow. The vandalism, which took place as Russia massed troops near Ukraine’s border, looked as if Ukrainians were defacing memorials to Polish national heroes.

Yet some clues suggested otherwise.

Ukrainian refugees find jobs, kindness, as they settle in

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Nataliya Hibska quickly brushes her teeth and makes the bed. She is rushing to her new job.

From a small hostel room in eastern Warsaw, Hibska, a Ukrainian refugee, is slowly rebuilding her life, which was abruptly upended by Russia’s invasion of her homeland.

European Union member nations like Poland and Romania — the two neighboring countries to have received the most refugees from Ukraine — have launched programs to help them integrate.

Poland would like more U.S. troops in Europe, says ruling party boss

WARSAW, April 3 (Reuters) - Poland would welcome a 50% increase in the number of U.S. troops in Europe, the leader of the country's ruling party said in comments published on Sunday, as Warsaw calls for tougher action against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.

The invasion of Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin called a "special military operation" to demilitarise its neighbour, has fueled security fears in states on NATO's eastern flank.

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