Poland

The eighth day of he war ends. Yes, that's how the Ukrainians, but not only them, have recently been marking time. In Wrocław, information from the front is heard every evening. Tonight, the most important news was that Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odessa are not giving up. It is good to hear. Not so good is that the Russian convoy is only 30 km from Kiev.

Funds will be distributed for medical needs of citizens in Ukraine and refugee needs in Poland through the Council on Aid to Ukrainians of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA).

Ukraine constantly puts up stiff resistance to the invaders. Several of the largest cities are defended. I hear conflicting information hour by hour. Everyone asks themselves: where is all this leading..?

In Poland, so far, there is no panic, neither in shops nor at ATMs, but one can sense the tense situation and unspoken questions: How will the events evolve? Can Putin reach for nuclear weapons?

Today, my country, my homeland was attacked. The leader of the aggressor state, Vladimir Putin, announced the launch of a "special military operation" in Donbas. Around 4 a.m. on February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and started the war.

Putin recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics by breaking international law once again, and the European elite and its diplomacy still believe in the project of cooperation with Russia from Vladivostok to Lisbon. What will happen to Europe next? Will Germany stop feeding us pro-Russian demagogy and cynicism?

The Polish American Congress unequivocally condemns Russian recognition of rebel entities in Eastern Ukraine and the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. We see the Russian action as an unwarranted aggression that undermines international law and principles of sovereignty and independence. This action makes a diplomatic solution more difficult.

We talk little about it, but it is our national trait to be a humble and proud nation, while others promote their own actions, even if they are irrelevant. With some disbelief, I listen to the words that Great Britain has always helped Poland. I listen with fear to the words about the "second Afghanistan," and about the new alliance Great Britain-Poland-Ukraine, which is perhaps supposed to force France and Germany to be more active.

Fat Thursday is a tradition in many countries. For example, in the Rhineland, Germany, Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival Night) is the day when women take over town halls, symbolically cutting off... the gentlemen's ties — in exchange for a kiss on the cheek. Giovedì grasso is also celebrated in Italy, and jueves lardero (also called Día de la Tortilla, or Tortilla Day) in Spain. In Poland, this day is celebrated rather sweetly, by eating mainly pączki and faworki (angel wings). This year, Fat Thursday falls on February 24.

On January 25, 1988, the President of the Republic of Poland, Kazimierz Sabbat, on the basis of article 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 23, 1935, appointed him in an order "the successor of the President of the Republic of Poland in the event of the vacancy of the office of the President of the Republic." After the sudden death of Kazimierz Sabbat on July 19, 1989, on the same day in the evening, pursuant to Art. 19 of the Polish Constitution, he took the oath and took the office of the President of the Republic of Poland in Exile.

On September 17, 1939, after the aggression of the Soviet Union against Poland, the Polish government and the commander-in-chief, Edward Rydz Śmigły, evacuated to Romania, with which Poland had friendly relations, in order not to be captured and forced to sign the surrender. Unfortunately, the political circumstances changed and the Polish authorities, along with the president and the commander-in-chief, were interned there.