Poland’s president announced Tuesday that the country would hold its parliamentary election on Oct. 15, marking the official start of an electoral campaign that has informally been underway for months and is being shaped by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

President Andrzej Duda said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the elections for the 460-seat lower house of parliament, the Sejm, and for the 100-seat Senate will both take place on that Sunday. Lawmakers will be elected for a four-year term.

The election campaign begins during rising anxieties in Poland over the presence of Russia-linked Wagner mercenaries across the NATO nation’s northeastern border in Belarus, where they have arrived by the thousands since a short-lived mutiny in Russia in June. Tensions have also been growing with ally Ukraine, to the country’s southeast, over grain imports and historical memories of past ethnic conflicts.

Poland’s conservative ruling party, Law and Justice, has been seeking to present itself as strong on national defense given the turmoil across its eastern borders. It has ordered more soldiers to beef up security at the Belarus border and is planning a large military parade on the Aug. 15 Army Day holiday next week to show off new tanks and other military equipment it has been purchasing.

The ruling party — whose leaders have made multiple visits to Kyiv to support the Ukrainian war effort — has also been taking a more confrontational stance with Ukraine of late, as a far-right political group that has been critical of helping Ukraine has been rising in the opinion polls.

Polls show that Law and Justice, which has governed Poland since 2015, is heading toward the election as the most popular party, but is likely to fall short of an outright majority in parliament.

Its main challenger is a liberal-centrist bloc, the Civic Coalition, headed by Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister and former president of the European Council. Support for Tusk’s party has grown in past months but mostly at the expense of other opposition parties.

Poland’s geographical position and support for Ukraine and acceptance of large numbers of Ukrainian refugees have attracted two visits since the war started from President Joe Biden.

The praise it won for helping Ukraine has allowed the government to avoid some of the scrutiny it has faced in past years over concerns in the West that its approach to the judiciary, media and LGBTQ+ people and other minorities amounts to democratic backsliding.
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LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: 

At least seven people killed in two Russian missile strikes in eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk Monday evening 
The Ukrainian Security Service said Monday that it had detained a Russian informant aiming to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while he was visiting the Mykolaiv region in July. 
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba requested ATACMS long-range missiles in a phone call Monday with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken. 

Rescuers in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk are digging through the rubble of several buildings destroyed by two back-to-back Russian missile attacks Monday that killed at least seven people.

Pokrovsk is located in the Donetsk region, which has been the scene of some of the most intense fighting since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.  Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk, says the two missiles struck about 40 minutes apart, destroying residential buildings, restaurants, shops and administrative buildings and a hotel popular with foreign journalists.

The dead include an emergency official with the Donetsk regional government.  At least 25 people were wounded in the twin attacks.

Meanwhile two people were killed in Russian missile strikes in Kruhliakivka village in Kupiansk district, according to Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration.

Jeddah Summit

The United States characterized as productive China’s participation at the Jeddah peace summit on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia this past weekend.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland held a brief sideline meeting in Jeddah with China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs and former ambassador to Russia, Li Hui.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Beijing would uphold an independent and impartial position on a peace settlement.

Wang said China would serve as an “objective and rational voice” at any international forums and “actively promote peace talks.”

Western officials and analysts say Saudi diplomacy was important to securing China’s presence at the talks.

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has kept ties with both sides, presenting itself as a mediator and seeking a bigger role on the world stage.

Yermak, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said Monday that the talks dealt a “huge blow” to Russia as the participants agreed to a follow up meeting.

“We will hold another meeting within a month [to a] month-and-a-half and we will move towards [holding] a summit,” Yermak said at a news briefing.

Senior officials from 42 countries participated in the two-day Jeddah peace summit. Russia was not invited to the high-level talks.

Yermak said all the countries present at the talks fully supported Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity, and that only peace initiatives put forward by Ukraine were discussed at the meeting.

He acknowledged that participants had not come to an agreement on parts of Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace formula, which calls for the withdrawal of all Russian troops and return of all Ukrainian territory to Kyiv’s control.

With the exception of Russia the high-level talks included delegates from all other BRICS bloc nations: Brazil, India, China and South Africa.

Moscow chided efforts by international officials meeting in Saudi Arabia to find a peaceful resolution for the Ukraine war without including Russia in the talks, which it described as lacking “the slightest added value.”

During the two-day summit, the head of Brazil’s delegation, foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, stressed that “any real negotiation must include all parties,” including Russia, according to a copy of his statement shared with Agence France Presse.

Moscow dismissed the talks as a doomed Western attempt to align the Global South behind Kyiv.

Russia grain attacks

U.N. Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a news briefing Monday that Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown visited the Danube port of Izmail Saturday, three days after it was hit in an attack on a grain storage facility that damaged thousands of tons of grain that would have been enough to feed approximately 66 million people for a day.

This attack, which is not an isolated incident, follows Russia’s decision to exit the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a move that is already impacting global food prices and is affecting the most vulnerable people.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Russia’s intensification of attacks on Ukrainian ports, calling for the immediate cessation of all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs continues to sound the alarm about the plight of civilians already facing a dire situation in Ukraine, as the intensification of attacks affecting critical civilian infrastructure in the country will likely worsen humanitarian needs.

Ukrainian counteroffensive

Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi on Monday said Kyiv’s counteroffensive is progressing at a steady pace, and that its defensive lines are stable as troops repel Russian attempts to counterattack and distract Ukrainian forces from other parts of the front.

“Heavy fighting is underway, and step-by-step, Ukrainian troops are continuing to create the conditions to advance,” Zaluzhnyi said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app after a telephone call with U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley. “The initiative is on our side.”

Ukraine has so far recaptured several villages in the south and regained some territory around the ravaged city of Bakhmut in the east but has not achieved a breakthrough yet against heavily entrenched Russian lines.

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said Russia was using all its resources to stop Kyiv’s advance, but that Ukrainian troops were advancing steadily toward the southern cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov.

Ukrainian officials have responded to criticism that the counteroffensive is going slowly, saying they are trying to avoid high casualties as they attack well-fortified Russian lines that are strewn with landmines.

In its latest assessment on the war in Ukraine, Britain’s defense ministry said Tuesday that Russia’s national guard, Rosgvardia, will be equipped with heavy weaponry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the new measure into law last week for the 200,000-member strong national guard.

The British defense ministry says the decision to boost the forces follows the brief mutiny of the private Wagner military company, which suggests the Kremlin is transforming Rosgvardia as one of the key organizations in Russia to ensure regime security.

Some information is from VOA’s U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer, The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
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London’s Brick Lane, famed for its street art, appears to be the scene of the latest face-off between pro-democracy supporters and Chinese loyal to President Xi Jinping’s rule.

Over the weekend, big red Chinese characters painted on a white background, extolled “core socialist values,” sentiments first expressed by Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, and embraced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

Most of the slogans have since been covered by anti-CCP sentiments, and a Chinese student who led the sloganeers says he has received death threats. 

Early on Saturday, people whitewashed a section of the street art wall, then spray painted a set of 12 two-character words in Chinese. The words included “Democracy,” “Civility,” “Freedom,” “Equality,” “Justice” and “The Rule of Law.” 

As the slogans attracted negative comments online, people went to Brick Lane to paint comments critical of Beijing such as “Free Uighurs” and “Free Tibet.” There were references to the bloody Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.  

When Voice of America visited the site on Monday afternoon, only the word “Friendly” remained on the wall with the other sentiments covered up by slogans targeting the CCP.  

It remains unclear if the people who painted the original slogans were being serious or ironic. 

Wang Hanzheng, a Royal College of Art student who signs his art with name Yi Que, named the piece “East London’s Socialist Core Values” and said the graphic slogans “did not carry a strong political message.” 

“I wanted to see how the core values of socialism could bring a different impact to Brick Lane, which has long been symbolized and commercialized as a space of freedom. I wanted to explore a new way of commercialized artwork,” he said. 

A point of contention was whether it was reasonable for Yi Que to cover multiple artworks at once with white paint, even though local graffiti artworks are usually replaced by others every few weeks. 

Yi Que issued a statement on Monday afternoon, stating that he held “no political stance.”

He said the work aimed to provoke discussions and it showcased conflicts arising from two extreme views. He said he loved China, but he also has the right to reflect on the country through art. 

He defended his work and said the group had consulted local graffiti artists before whitewashing the wall and that the artists did not mind their work being covered. 

Yi Que also said he and his team were facing cyberbullying and death threats. His personal information and that of his parents had been put online.  

“My parents are already quite old. I implore you not to do this. I am very concerned about their safety. Some of my social media accounts have been restricted, but at this moment, I cannot remain silent or back down. I really don’t want to affect my family and friends. I am willing to bear all the doubts and consequences,” he said. “At the same time, I hope people from all walks of life and scholars can offer some assistance. I am in the midst of severe persecution,” he said.

The whitewashed area of slogans covered a tribute to a popular street artist, Marty, painted by his fellow artist and friend, Benzi Brofman. 

On Instagram, Brofman said painting over works like his was part of the street art culture. 

Brofman told VOA Cantonese on Sunday that he was focused on creating new artwork and that Monday was also his birthday; thus, he would “prefer not to waste my time and energy on this issue.” 

“My mind is set on my future art projects that will, hopefully bring joy and comfort to people,” he said.

In an interview with VOA Cantonese, Australia-based Chinese political cartoonist Badiucao called the graffiti “a crude piece of work.” 

Regardless of whether Yi Que was trying to be patriotic or satirical, said Badiucao, the real cost was not borne by them, but the local street artists who have put in weeks or even months of effort for their work. 

“Some may ask, isn’t graffiti about free expression? Aren’t all artworks eventually covered by new ones? Yes, indeed, street art is like a carousel, but street artists don’t cover other artworks randomly,” he said. “Often, we choose to cover old works or ones that have been tagged as heavily damaged. For new works, especially those with commemorative significance, artists tend to choose to show respect.” 

“Perhaps in the eyes of many, this act has caused a thousand waves and is therefore a success,” said Badiucao. “It gave almost everyone what they wanted – Yi Que gained massive fame through the spectacle, ‘little pinks’ patriots got the pride of their slogans being seen in the heart of London, dissenters got evidence exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s threat to freedom of speech. 

“However, after the carnival of chaos, it’s the local artists who are forced to pay the price. They have involuntarily born the cost of this publicity stunt,” Badiucao said.
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European carriers on Monday reported disruptions and suspended flights across the African continent after Niger’s junta had closed its airspace on Sunday.

Also on Monday, the junta braced for a response from the West African regional bloc after ignoring its deadline to reinstate the country’s ousted president or face the threat of military intervention.

The disruption adds to a band of African airspace facing geopolitical upheavals, including in Libya and Sudan, with some flights facing up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in detours.

“The closure of Niger’s airspace dramatically widens the area over which most commercial flights between Europe and southern Africa cannot fly,” tracking service FlightRadar24 said in a blog post.

Air France has suspended flights to and from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Bamako in Mali until Friday, the company said Monday, with longer flight times expected in the West African region.

A spokesperson added that Air France expected longer flight times from sub-Saharan hub airports, and that flights between Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and Accra in Ghana were set to operate nonstop.

But aviation analyst James Halstead said that airlines would mostly have to find alternative routes, and that difficulties should be limited given the small number of African air connections.

“I’m not sure this is huge disruption. … It will affect routes from Europe to Nigeria and South Africa and probably from the Gulf of the Ethiopia to West Africa,” he said.

Spokespeople for Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines said that flight times could be between 1½ and 3½ hours longer for rerouted flights.

British Airways in an emailed statement said that it “apologized to those customers affected for the disruption to their journeys,” and that it was working hard to get them on their way again as quickly as possible.

 
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LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

Russian shelling in Kherson and Kharkiv killed at least three people and wounded three others.
The Ukrainian Security Service said Monday that it had detained a Russian informant aiming to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while he was visiting the Mykolaiv region in July.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba requested ATACMS long-range missiles in a phone call Monday with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken.

Talks aimed at restoring peace in Ukraine held this past weekend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, dealt a “huge blow” to Russia as the participants agreed to a follow-up meeting, presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said Monday.

“We will hold another meeting within a month, month-and-a-half and we will move towards [holding] a summit,” Yermak said at a news briefing.

Senior officials from 42 countries participated in the two-day Jeddah peace summit. Russia was not invited to the high-level talks.

Yermak said all the countries present at the talks in Jeddah fully supported Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity, and that only peace initiatives put forward by Ukraine were discussed at the meeting.

He acknowledged that the participants had not come to an agreement on parts of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace formula that calls for the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control.

The high-level talks included delegates from the world economies of the BRICS group, Brazil, India, China and South Africa.

Moscow chided efforts by international officials meeting in Saudi Arabia to find a peaceful resolution for the Ukraine war without including Russia in the talks which, it said, do not have “the slightest added value.”

During the two-day summit, the head of Brazil’s delegation, foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, stressed that “any real negotiation must include all parties,” including Russia, according to a copy of his statement shared with AFP.

Moscow dismissed the talks as a doomed Western attempt to align the Global South behind Kyiv.

But neutral China, which agreed to participate in the peace summit, said it would uphold an independent and impartial position on a Ukraine peace settlement.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi made these comments in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Wang said China would serve as an “objective and rational voice” at any international multilateral forums and “actively promote peace talks.

Western officials and analysts said Saudi diplomacy had been important in securing China’s presence at the talks.

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has kept ties with both sides presenting itself as a mediator and seeking a bigger role on the world stage.

Russia grain attacks

U.N. Spokesperson Farhan Haq said at a news briefing Monday, that the Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown visited the Danube port of Izmail Saturday, three days after it was hit in an attack damaging a grain storage facility, damaging thousands of tons of grain that would have been enough to feed approximately 66 million people for a day.

This attack, which is not an isolated incident, follows Russia’s decision to exit the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a move that is already impacting global food prices and is affecting the most vulnerable people.

The secretary-general already condemned Russia’s intensification of attacks on Ukrainian ports, calling for the immediate cessation of all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs continues to sound the alarm about the plight of civilians already facing a dire situation in Ukraine, as the intensification of attacks affecting critical civilian infrastructure in the country will likely worsen humanitarian needs.

Ukrainian counteroffensive

The Ukrainian counteroffensive is progressing at a steady pace Ukraine’s commander-in-chief said Monday.

Kyiv’s defensive lines are stable as troops are repelling Russian attempts to counterattack and distract Ukrainian forces from other parts of the front, Valerii Zaluzhnyi said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

“Heavy fighting is underway, and step-by-step, Ukrainian troops are continuing to create the conditions to advance. The initiative is on our side,” Zaluzhnyi said after a telephone call with U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley.

Ukraine has so far recaptured several villages in the south and regained some territory around the ravaged city of Bakhmut in the east but has not achieved a breakthrough yet against heavily entrenched Russian lines.

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said Russia was using all its resources to stop Kyiv’s advance, but that Ukrainian troops were advancing steadily toward the southern cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov.

Ukrainian officials have responded to criticism that the counteroffensive is going slowly, saying they are trying to avoid high casualties as they attack well-fortified Russian lines that are strewn with landmines.

In its latest assessment on the war in Ukraine, Britain’s defense ministry said Monday, Russia’s air force continues to deploy “considerable resources” in support of ground operations in Ukraine, “but without operational effect.”

The ministry says Russian tactical combat aircraft have typically carried out over 100 missions a day, but they are almost always restricted to Russian-controlled territory “due to the threat from Ukrainian air defenses.”

The assessment also said that while Russian attack helicopters had proved effective at the start of Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive that began in June, it appears to be less able “to generate effective tactical airpower in the south.

Some information for this story came from VOA’s U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer, The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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