Category: Poland

The Last King of Poland’s Summer Retreat: Royal Lazienki Palace

WARSAW, Poland—In 1764, King Stanislaw August Poniatowski bought a baroque bathhouse pavilion along with a surrounding estate to build his summer retreat, in Warsaw. Dutch architect Tylman van Gamerenhad had designed the original bathhouse. The king had the bathhouse extended to make his neoclassical style summer retreat, the Royal Lazienki Palace, more commonly known as The…


Poland Probes New Leak in Russian Oil Pipeline to Germany: ‘All Hypotheses Possible’

WARSAW—Polish energy operator PERN said on Oct. 12 that it had detected a leak in a key pipeline that ships Russian oil to Germany via Poland, with Warsaw saying it’s investigating but there’s no indication of sabotage. After recent explosions rocked the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, suspicions were raised…


South Korea Aims to Become World’s 4th Largest Arms Exporter

New Analysis The Russia-Ukraine war has shaken the global arms industry as nations bulk up defense budgets to expand their militaries. Amid an intensified global arms race, South Korea is seeking to become one of the world’s top four weapons suppliers. “By entering the [list of the] world’s top four defense exporters after the United…


Gas Starts Flowing to Poland Via New Baltic Pipe From Norway

WARSAW—Natural gas started flowing to Poland through the new Baltic Pipe pipeline from Norway via the Baltic Sea on the morning of Oct. 1, Polish gas pipeline operator Gaz-System said. “Promises made over six years ago have been kept,” Gaz-System said, according to a translation of its Oct. 1 statement. Gas started flowing at 6:10…


Blaze at State Oil Giant PKN Orlen Plant in Poland Kills 2

WARSAW, Poland—Polish officials say two people have died in a fire at a facility belonging to state-owned oil giant PKN Orlen in central Poland. The fire at the plant near the town of Plock, which includes an oil refinery, was soon extinguished Tuesday, the company said. Iwona Śmigielska-Kowalska, spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office in Plock,…


Poland, South Korea Seal $3 Billion Military Aircraft Deals

JANOW, Poland—Poland on Friday sealed $3 billion in deals with South Korea for the purchase of 48 Korean FA-50 fighter planes as the central European country takes urgent steps to increase its deterrence and defense capabilities amid Russia’s war on neighboring Ukraine. The two deals for the purchase of Fighting Falcon combat and training planes…


Poland Puts Its World War II Losses at $1.3 Trillion, Demands German Reparations

WARSAW—Poland estimates its World War II losses caused by Germany at 6.2 trillion zlotys ($1.32 trillion), the leader of the country’s ruling nationalists said on Thursday, and he said Warsaw would officially demand reparations. Poland’s biggest trade partner and a fellow member of the European Union and NATO, Germany has previously said all financial claims…


Poland to Bolster Defenses With Purchase of South Korean Armaments

Poland will sign a contract with South Korea to acquire tanks, howitzers, and fighter jets as Warsaw seeks to bolster its military defenses amid the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, said Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak in a July 22 interview with Polish news magazine Sieci. Poland is finalizing negotiations with South Korea to buy 48 FA-50 light…


Ashes of 8,000 WWII Victims Found in 2 Poland Mass Graves

WARSAW, Poland—Special investigators in Poland say they have found two mass graves containing the ashes of at least 8,000 Poles slain by the Nazis during World War II in forest executions that the Nazis later tried to hide by incinerating the bodies and planting trees on the burial pits. Investigators from a national historical institute…


The Baltic Noose the Kremlin Fears

Commentary Has the Kremlin decided to fight a hot war in the Baltic Sea’s cold waters? On June 17 the Russian Navy deliberately violated Danish territorial water, specifically the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, which lies north of Poland. During the Cold War Bornholm was a Berlin-like intelligence outpost behind enemy lines. On June 18…