Economists warn that president-elect Karol Nawrocki may rail against government-backed&ensp;reforms to cut a fiscal deficit, and secure EU aid. Any such revocation could prompt&ensp;credit-ratings agencies to downgrade the outlook of Poland's country rating, which would indicate significant economic risk. Financial aid from&ensp;the EU could also be at risk if the judiciary situation is not sorted out. Moody's has warned that a return to politics as usual ahead of the 2027 election could see&ensp;higher government spending, threatening 2026 deficit-reduction targets. Rates Take a Breather Over Budgetary Questions The National Bank of Poland kept&ensp;its interest rate unchanged in June, suggesting it was in no rush to raise amid persistent inflation pressures and unclear fiscal condtions. Another rate cut was unlikely before September or October, central bank head Adam Glapiński said, noting increasing wages and the&ensp;imminent end of price caps for electricity as the main risks. With no clear draft 2026 budget, the central bank&ensp;is wary of further monetary policy changes. And economists now believe the next rate move will not come until&ensp;more fiscal clarity appears. Bank Windfall Tax Proposal Heats Up Senior&ensp;Political Tensions Political tensions following the election have sparked debate in the ruling coalition for&ensp;additional fiscal measures, such as a proposed windfall tax on bank profits. The junior coalition partner, Polska 2050, is calling for the tax, and potential mortgage relief if costs are passed on to&ensp;consumers. Despite the record profits of &euro;9.4 billion achieved by&ensp;the banking sector last year, it already pays a lot in taxes in corporate taxes and from a bank levy. Nevertheless, bank shares have been drifting lower ever since the election, with investors worried by ad-hoc fiscal shifts and&ensp;increasing unpredictability in the financial sector. Minimum Wage Under Scrutiny As Discussion Heats Up The ministry&ensp;of finance is proposing a 3 minimum wage rise for 2026, in line with inflation projections, while the ministry of family and labour has recommended a more generous 7.6 rise. As unions call for more and employers urge restraint, the decision&ensp;will now depend on the Social Dialogue Council, but if no agreement is reached by mid-July, the government will decide. Poland Approves Bill to Solidify Defense Spending There is a crossparty majority in parliament for a proposal to enshrine a 4% GDP defence spending floor&ensp;in the constitution. If enacted, it would take effect with the 2026 budget and fundamentally&ensp;transform long-term fiscal planning. But questions remain about how the 4 percent will be&ensp;figured and whether off-budget spending can be applied toward the total. Russia's Wealth Fund Drains Fast Russia's National Wealth Fund, once a fiscal cushion,&ensp;is being depleted at breakneck speed. It lost nearly $6 billion in May&ensp;alone, and now has less than $36 billion in liquid assets. Moscow, meanwhile, may be left with little choice other than to&ensp;take drastic steps unless it can find a different path on Ukraine, given lower revenues and high spending on the war.

Polish markets have been immune to the latest presidential election result, with the&ensp;zloty, government bond and stock indexes all moving less than 1%. Yet under that stability, worrying fiscal and credit&ensp;trends are also emerging.

Markets Steady After Poland's Election, But Fiscal and Political Risks Grow

The exchange was confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described it as the "first stage" in the return of seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers from&ensp;captivity in Russia. "All of them&ensp;need urgent medical assistance," Zelenskyy said on Telegram. "This is also an&ensp;act of major humanitarian importance&hellip; We do everything to find and return our guys held captive." Ukrainian Prisoners of War&ensp;Who Need Urgent Help Ukrainian authorities released a video showing freed soldiers, visibly&ensp;emotional and many of them wrapped in the national flag or unit colors, chanting "Glory to Ukraine" as they stepped off buses at an undisclosed location. Most of the POWs are seriously wounded, their injuries range from loss of limbs&ensp;to infection and shock, says the Ukrainian military intelligence. Those exchanged was not yet announced&ensp;for security considerations. Russia&ensp;Confirms Homecoming of Its POWs Russia's Ministry of Defense acknowledged&ensp;the handover, as well. The released Russian soldiers were initially flown into close-by Belarus and returned to Russia for&ensp;treatment as well as rehabilitation. Peace Talks Bring Modest but Key Advances The exchanges are among the relatively rare tangible outcomes of resumed peace discussions between Russia and Ukraine, which resumed in Turkey&ensp;last month after more than three years of stalemate. While the&ensp;talks have not produced a truce or a bigger solution, the two sides had previously committed to a monumental POW swap of 1,000 prisoners on each side &mdash; the largest such trade since the two sides started fighting. During last week's meetings, the two sides also agreed to future&ensp;repatriation of the bodies of thousands of fallen soldiers, but that process has yet to begin.

Russia and&ensp;Ukraine swapped an unspecified number of sick and wounded prisoners of war (POWs) on Tuesday as part of a humanitarian agreement made during peace talks in Turkey last month. It comes after an earlier round&ensp;Monday on detainees aged under 25.

Russia and Ukraine Swap Sick and Wounded POWs in Latest Humanitarian Exchange

"There are direct hits on multi-storey buildings, private houses, playgrounds, enterprises and public transport,"&ensp;Terekhov said on Telegram. Fire erupted in 15 apartments of&ensp;the five-story building, and extensive damage was reported throughout the northeastern city near the Russian border. Children Among the Injured Nine people had been hospitalized with injuries, including a 2-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the&ensp;Kharkiv region, said in a statement. He&ensp;also noted that drone strikes hit a trolleybus depot in the city and residential buildings, further threatening homes and infrastructure. The Ukrainian military said that a total of 85&ensp;drones were sent by Russia overnight, with 40 shot down. It also observed that nine drones had&ensp;either been electronically intercepted or were probably empty shells without warheads. Wider Assaults Across Ukraine According to the&ensp;military, the drone strikes were largely concentrated on the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Odesa regions. The attacks come on top of a major ramping up of Russia's military activity since&ensp;what Moscow said were retaliatory attacks to Ukrainian operations on Russian territory. Russia has not officially responded&ensp;to the latest Kharkiv attack. Kharkiv, which in the early days of the 2022 invasion braved Russian capture, has come under relentless attack by&ensp;missiles, drones and aerial bombs in the last few months. Russia Says It&ensp;Intercepted Ukrainian Drones In turn, Russia's&ensp;defense ministry said that its air defenses had shot down 32 Ukrainian drones during the night. It said 16 were shot over the southern Voronezh region and the others were shot down&ensp;over Kursk, Tambov, Rostov and the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Though both sides deny targeting civilians, the war, now in its third year, has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, the majority of them&ensp;Ukrainians. "We are holding on. We are helping each other. We shall live through it, and definitely&ensp;survive," said Mayor Terekhov. "Kharkiv is Ukraine. And it cannot be broken."

Russia carried out a significant drone strike on Kharkiv&ensp;overnight that killed at least two civilians and injured 57 others, including seven children, regional officials reported on Wednesday. The attack, which lasted only nine minutes, involved 17 drones and set off fires and damage&ensp;over a geographically concentrated residential area, the mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said.

Russia Kills 2, Injures 57 in Drone Strike on Kharkiv

"To everyone who truly knows history and is not indifferent&ensp;to Christianity, the either the threat of damage to or the destruction of St. Sophia is absolutely unacceptable," Zelenskyy said in the nightly addres. He continued, "But not&ensp;for Russia. Kookier with Shaheds&ensp;and the red button&hellip; They don't make anything and will leave nothing else behind." An Attack on Ukraine's Cultural Dignity Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi said that Russia had attacked Ukraine's sense of itself, saying, "They have again&ensp;hit our very identity." Speaking earlier this year, Tochytskyi had called the cathedral&ensp;"the soul of all Ukraine." Video from the scene showed broken plaster and a hole in&ensp;the cornice on the cathedral's main apse. It is the first time St. Sophia Cathedral has been damaged since the war erupted&ensp;in February 2022. Vadym Kyrylenko,&ensp;deputy director general of the site, said that the increased threat from low-flying Russian drones made such attacks more likely. "Some [drones]don't make it across and almost reach the&ensp;crosses of the bell tower 76 meters high up," he continued. UNESCO Concerns Confirmed The cathedral&ensp;was awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 1990 for its historic and architectural qualities as an expression of the "new Constantinople." After Russia invaded, UNESCO listed the cathedral on its List of World Heritage in Danger for fear of continued military&ensp;activity. There was no structural failure thanks to the recent attack which was another&ensp;serendipity. An institute specializing in the field would examine the site and work to restore it&ensp;would begin soon, officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned a Russian drone attack that left the 11th century St. Sophia Cathedral in central Kyiv&ensp;damaged, saying such actions were "unacceptable and catastrophic." The cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Ukraine's most&ensp;precious treasures, was damaged on the front facade when the overnight strike occurred.

Ukraine's Zelenskyy Condemns Russian Drone Strike on Kyiv's Historic Cathedral

It has already refuted fears of job loss and wage pressure on Polish workers -&ensp;now with well over a million Ukrainian refugees in Poland. According to the report, refugees who have settled in those host areas have not led to unemployed or lowered wages for&ensp;local residents. Refugees' Contribution to Economic Growth Analysts noted that many of the refugees are&ensp;gainfully employed or have established small businesses that are driving Poland's economic specialisation and productivity. Yes, in Ukraine only about a third&ensp;of university graduates work in jobs that require them to have a degree, but they are still valuable to the labor force. The&ensp;rule of thumb, however, is the need to master a language and many are stalled because they don't speak Polish. Nonetheless, it's important to note&ensp;that by opening working to the Ukrainians immediately, Poland experienced a huge boost in GDP. Refugees are seen as having contributed&ensp;more to the economy than they have received in help or public services. Future Gains Linked to Greater Integration The report also indicates that more could be&ensp;gained through better integration of Ukrainians into the labor force. Closing these integration&ensp;gaps could yield benefits equivalent to around 6 billion zlotys, or about $1.60 billion, per annum. For all these political differences there is a consensus among Poland's political elite that maintaining its support for Ukraine and its&ensp;people is indispensable.

Ukrainian refugees have much to&ensp;the robust Polish economy, boosting the GDP by 2.7 percent in 2024. This is three years after the Russian invasion, and the big wave of&ensp;Ukrainians to Poland. Growing public frustration and promises to cut the&ensp;refugees' support notwithstanding, an extended follow-up of findings shows the refugees have had a largely positive impact.

Ukrainian Refugees Boost Poland's GDP by 2.7%

Economists Taken by Surprise By&ensp;Decline in GDP GDP fell&ensp;as much as 0.3% in April, a marked downturn on positive growth seen in February and March. That was&ensp;worse than expected; economists had predicted a smaller 0.1% drop. The fall was largely due to contractions in both services&ensp;and manufacturing, although there was some growth in construction activity. This plunge bodes poorly&ensp;for the second quarter. Gloomy economic forecasts as rising unemployment, taxes and external pressure from the&ensp;likes of Donald Trump in the form of tariffs, are also contributing to the economic uncertainty. Growth for&ensp;the quarter is now forecast to be just 0.1%, putting it to the test as a set-piece for Starmer&rsquo;s stewardship. Government Plans and Public Finances in&ensp;Flux The lackluster data adds further pressure to Keir Starmer&rsquo;s government, which was relying on strong early 2025 growth to back&ensp;up a string of public-service investments. Spending plans have been included&ensp;in the economic statement, which are linked to economic performance of the nation, said Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. But analysts and the Bank of England predict a significant slowdown that could squeeze the&ensp;country&rsquo;s national budget. A fall in revenue could prompt the government&ensp;to discuss raising taxes, making its fiscal plan more complicated. With slower growth on the horizon, the politics of Starmer&rsquo;s economic agenda has just become a good deal&ensp;more uncertain.

UK GDP falls as its economy has its&ensp;first negative growth in six months, contradicting prior projections. The latest estimates pile new pressure on the plans of Prime Minister Keir Starmer,&ensp;in particular as his government seeks to pay for massive public spending announcements.

UK GDP Falls, Raising Doubts Over Spending Plans

Talent Is Still in&ensp;Scarce Supply Even in this economic&ensp;downturn, there is great demand for well-trained people in Germany. This problem applies to almost&ensp;all MINT occupations, such as mathematicians, computer scientists, natural scientists, or engineers. The most sought after are industrial&ensp;workers, IT experts and engineers. A shortage of skilled workers is only getting worse for the economy, and alarms have been sounding about long-term damage for&ensp;some time.
 Immigration Could&ensp;Be Relief In&ensp;Bavaria, where the crunch is particularly bad, above-average pay hasn&rsquo;t even been sufficient to meet demand for open positions. Relaxing&ensp;the way for foreign workers to come and work in Germany could help relieve some of the pressure, experts say. And the&ensp;U.S. could live for years with staffing shortages in key parts of its economy without making at least some of those changes.

Despite&ensp;increasing wages, Germany still has a serious skilled worker shortage. Bavaria is&ensp;particularly badly affected; it has just been revealed that even very generous salaries are not attracting enough candidates. According to the experts, one major solution could be to&ensp;find new ways to get immigrants into the workforce.

Germany Struggles to Fill Jobs Despite Rising Wages

Heavy Slides&ensp;in Rivne Region, Poland Jets Scrambled Among the hardest hit was the province of Rivne in western Ukraine, a region that&ensp;isn&rsquo;t frequently shelled because of its distance from the frontlines.
Regional head Oleksandr Koval said at least one person had been injured&ensp;by the strikes and added that a "large quantity" of Russian aerial threats were intercepted.
 Koval called the incident &ldquo;a very difficult night&rdquo; for the region&ensp;and said Rivne was hit by a &ldquo;strong air strike.&rdquo; Brig. Gen. Grudziński said the scale of the attack had prompted the scrambling of jets in&ensp;Poland and from other confirmed N.A.T.O. countries as a precaution.
 These strikes come&ensp;on the heels of previous aerial assaults and after Russia vowed to retaliate for a covert action on June 1 that destroyed a number of its warplanes.
 Ukraine&ensp;Counterattacks with Drones In retaliation, Ukrainian forces struck an electronics factory in&ensp;the Chuvashia region of Russia. The plant, called VNIIR, is suspected of producing navigation systems for Shahed-type drones, laser-guided bombs and&ensp;other precision-guided munitions.
 About 800 miles from the front lines, and hit by two drones, it was the most distant and yet one of the nearest to&ensp;the human predicament of the moment. Ural&ensp;regional governor Oleg Nikolayev said no one was injured, but production at the site has been suspended by the damage to the plant.
 Drone-blamed damage was also reported in the Voronezh region, south&ensp;of Russia. There, Russian air defenses shot down&ensp;49 Ukrainian drones overnight, officials said.
 The cross-border strikes reflect an increasing severity of the conflict in which both sides are striking&ensp;at each other&rsquo;s military infrastructure far from the front lines.

Western parts of Ukraine were pounded early Friday as Russia unleashed a potent wave&ensp;of missile and drone strikes. The attack, which ran&ensp;from Sunday evening into Monday morning, was focussed on a number of areas, including the capital, Kyiv. Ukraine&rsquo;s government issued a series of alerts for potentially affected areas across&ensp;the country.

Russia Hits Western Ukraine in Intense Overnight Airstrike

Moldova's security has raised particular concerns in the wake of Russia's full-scale&ensp;invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moldova does not&ensp;border Russia, but Moscow's forces are already based next door, in the breakaway region of Transnistria, which broke off from Moldova after a brief war in the early 1990s. They are&ensp;described here as peacekeepers but are seen by Chișinău as an invasion of the sovereignty of the country. Incrasing&ensp;Influence and Regional Tensions Transnistria serves as a major&ensp;bastion of Russian influence in southeastern Europe. Sitting between&ensp;Ukraine and the rest of Moldova, which is shifting more and more toward the European Union and wants to join by 2030, the region presents an obstacle to getting what the West wants. Moldova has repeatedly&ensp;accused Russia of political interference, including meddling in elections and efforts at destabilizing the country. Another pro-EU leader, President Maia Sandu,&ensp;was re-elected in November, defeating an opponent from the pro-Russian Socialist Party. Allegations of Russian meddling cast a pall over her&ensp;re-election and increased tensions between the two nations. Possible Regional Fallout From&ensp;Troop Movement Recean underlined in a recent interview regional risks for Russian troops to be stationed in Transnistria at&ensp;a level of 10 thousand men. It would not just pressure southwestern Ukraine," he cautioned, "but it would place further pressure&ensp;on the country and on Romania, a member of NATO, close to Moldova. Although the Moldovan government has been obliging, it continues to stand firm on the complete evacuation of&ensp;Russian forces from Transnistria, which it recognises as a sign of Putin's direct challenge to Moldovan sovereignty and democracy.

Dorin Recean, Moldova's prime minister, has said that Russia is 'eyeing' to move 10,000 troops into the separatist-held area of Transnistria if it manages to install a pro-Kremlin government in Chișinău and during September's parliamentary elections in&ensp;order to enhance military control over the territory.

Moldova Warns of Russian Troop Plan in Transnistria

"Poland and Germany have a specific role to&ensp;play in the security of the eastern flank, and also in assistance to Ukraine," Sikorski said. He also called upon Europe to take more responsibility for its own security, particularly as&ensp;American military assistance to Ukraine has started to wane. Demanding Additional EU Sanctions, Defense Overhauls Wadephul stressed that action must be taken against Russia, pledging that Berlin would&ensp;work to implement a new round of EU sanctions "as fast as possible." He pointed to&ensp;the interrelatedness of regional security, saying, "The security of Poland is the security of Germany." Both suggested that the top priority should be to modernize Europe's joint air defense&ensp;network. The duo also discussed German border checks introduced last&ensp;year to control irregular migration, in addition to defense issues. Any disruption should be kept to a minimum and German representatives were welcome to see the border fortifications Poland has built with Belarus,&ensp;Sikorski said. Reconciliation between History&ensp;and Culture Addressing historical questions, Sikorski repeated Poland's demand that the victims of Nazi-era aggression should receive compensation, and argued that meaningful redress is&ensp;necessary to build stronger bilateral ties. Wadephul replied, reasserting Germany's commitment to&ensp;remembrance and supporting a memorial in Berlin to Polish victims. The ministers also praised&ensp;the reopening of the so-called Polish-German Forum, which had been dormant since 2018. At the event, recipients of the 2025 Polish-German Prize were&ensp;announced: film-maker Elwira Niewiera and the Bredbeck Educational Centre for their dialogue-building and support to Ukraine.

Poland and Germany reiterate their mutual pledge to strengthen NATO's eastern flank and to enhance support&ensp;for Ukraine in the face of continued aggression by Russia. At a news conference in Berlin on Wednesday, Poland's foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, and the foreign policy spokesman&ensp;for the German Christian Democrats, Johann Wadephul, stressed their countries' "historic responsibility" to maintain regional stability.

Poland and Germany Reaffirm NATO Defense Goals, Push for More Russia Sanctions

The Vatican said in a statement that the pope urged Russia to make&ensp;"a gesture that would favor peace" and that dialogue was key to a solution to the conflict. According&ensp;to press reports, the discussion centered on humanitarian work, including the transfer of prisoners. Vatican's Role in Seeking Peace Stressed In the phone conversation, which was initiated by Zelenskyy, the tradition of peace mediation in Ukraine by the Vatican peace envoy, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, led both to talk about how&ensp;it could continue. Zuppi recently mobilized to find solutions to&ensp;ease the human suffering brought by the war. The Kremlin, in a separate statement, confirmed that the two leaders had&ensp;spoken by phone and thanked the pope for his willingness to mediate the dispute. But it also&ensp;accused Ukraine of escalating tensions. Peace Talks Plan Meets Resistance US President Donald Trump&ensp;had previously stated that Pope Leo had offered to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in the Vatican. Yet despite the offer, Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and other senior&ensp;officials are said to have flatly rejected it, saying the Vatican is not a neutral or suitable place for dialogue between two countries that are days away from a summit of their respective Orthodox branches of Christianity. As the war in Ukraine grinds on into a long, destructive phase, Pope Leo's involvement is an&ensp;example of the renewed attempt by the Vatican to serve as a moral and diplomatic go-between in the global arena of resolving conflict.

Pope Leo has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to aid peace initiatives in Ukraine in a&ensp;phone call on Wednesday afternoon, the Vatican said. The call was the first direct conversation between the two men since&ensp;Pope Leo's election by the College of Cardinals, which made him the first American pope, last month.

Pope Leo Urges Putin to Pursue Peace in Ukraine During First Official Call

Świątek, who plays brilliantly on clay&ensp;courts when open to the air, may not be rewarded by the closed roof. Experts say&ensp;that the move to indoor-like conditions will mean reduced efficacy of her topspin-heavy game. Sabalenka's Power Game Could Benefit&ensp;From Closed Roof A number of tennis analysts also think&ensp;the indoor conditions could give Aryna Sabalenka the edge. The slower court surface that&ensp;a closed roof will induce should temper the spin and variety that Świątek relies on to steamroll her opponents. Sabalenka,&ensp;who is more about strength and power, could be comfortable in these conditions that are more favorable to playing on the front foot. A few observers have also noted that Świątek loves outdoor conditions, including the breezes and light&ensp;changes, that indoor conditions would eliminate. Given the unpredictable weather, both players could&ensp;confront a subtle mental and tactical test in this semifinal.

Thursday at 3&ensp;p.m. CEST That would be 2025 French Open semifinal between the two-time champ Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka might be rained on in Paris? Organizers&ensp;are ready to put the retractable roof at Roland Garros into use and close it if necessary to keep the French Open from being the rainy mess it's been in the past. But people are starting to wonder what impact this could have on the&ensp;game's flow.

Rain Threatens Świątek vs Sabalenka Semifinal at French Open

The discovery was made&ensp;by officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation after the agency began looking into a private arms-trading firm believed to be the owner of the arsenal. Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the Minister of Internal Affairs, warned that the firm was licensed to trade in weapons but had&ensp;no right to store them in Poland. Outrage&ensp;Over Unsecured Storage Dobrzyński had confirmed that the&ensp;containers had been left unattended &mdash; a significant breach of rules on safeguarding such dangerous military equipment. "This is a scandal," he said,&ensp;pointing out that proper security protocols were not followed. The authorities have been&ensp;investigating the company since May 27, but the weapons were not seized until June 4 &mdash; prompting alarm about the time lag. The&ensp;retired lieutenant general, Jarosław Gromadziński, targeted the response as he told reporters that it was worrying that noticeable arms were not properly protected for days after being pinned by security forces. Destination And Legality Probe Is Launched Initial&ensp;indications suggest the weapons were bound for Ukraine. Investigators are currently trying to verify the origin of the weapons and whether they were part of a legal shipment or involved&ensp;in illegal trafficking. The case has prompted&ensp;calls for tighter oversight of arms companies that do business in Poland and more rigorous enforcement of regulations requiring secure storage of military equipment.

A sweeping arms scandal has exploded in southeastern Poland after dozens of weapons &mdash; including rocket launchers and anti-aircraft missiles &mdash; were found outdoors at&ensp;a private airfield in the town of Laszki, apparently without proper protection, the police said. Weapons were discovered bundled inside containers in&ensp;a hangar owned by a local aeroclub.

Rocket Launchers, Missiles Found at Polish Airfield Amid Security Scandal

Seven apartment buildings were struck, and two were directly affected, said Ihor Terekhov,&ensp;the mayor of Kharkiv. One drone hit the 17th floor of one building while another struck the second floor of&ensp;a building next door. The city has seen repeated assaults since conflict began more&ensp;than three years ago. Anastasiia Meleshchenko, a&ensp;local resident, described her own escape with her child to the hallway moments before part of the ceiling fell. She said&ensp;her apartment had only recently been repaired after a previous attack. Deaths Reported in Pryluky Five people were confirmed dead in the northern town of Pryluky, including a one-year-old child and two women,&ensp;according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Six more people were hospitalized after the attack, according&ensp;to the regional governor of Chernihiv, Viacheslav Chaus. The drone strikes left a number of buildings in a residential area&ensp;in ruins. Preliminary reports indicate that at least six drones were involved in the&ensp;attack on Pryluky. Emergency&ensp;workers inspected the extensive damage at the scene. Russian&ensp;officials have made no official statement on the attacks.

At least five people have been killed and over&ensp;20 wounded in Ukraine following lethal airstrikes conducted by Russia overnight, according to local officials. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, which is about 30 kilometers from Russia's border, 17 people&ensp;were wounded, among them at least four children, when a number of unmanned aerial drones damaged residential buildings around 1 a.m.

Russian Drone Attacks Kill Five in Ukraine Overnight

The Polish speaker of the Senate, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, will receive her French&ensp;and German counterparts, G&eacute;rard Larcher and Anke Rehlinger, at the Polish parliament. Also due to attend by video link is Speaker of the Ukrainian&ensp;Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk. Building links in&ensp;the region The summit is coming just a day after Kidawa-Błońska held bilateral talks with Larcher over expanding the role of the Weimar&ensp;Triangle in the context of the changing geopolitical realities. She ensured her French counterpart that the outcome of Poland's&ensp;recent presidential elections would not affect relations or joint parliament work. The Weimar Triangle was established in 1991 to facilitate political collaboration between Poland, France, and Germany, the most important players in&ensp;Central and Western Europe. This latest gathering represents a fresh attempt to exploit the platform to respond&ensp;to continuing regional challenges, such as backing for Ukraine and defining the EU's strategic orientation.

The top parliamentary leaders from Poland, France and Germany will&ensp;meet in Warsaw on Wednesday to hold talks at a high political level on European security and the future of the EU enlargement. Weimar Triangle This gathering of the&ensp;leaders of the Weimar Triangle underscores our joint commitment to regional cooperation and stability.

Weimar Triangle Leaders to Meet in Warsaw for Key Security and EU Talks

That could amount to number eight: Listening to the popular &ldquo;Two Majors&rdquo; Telegram channel &mdash; which boasts more than an million users &mdash; pondering that, well, the attacks give Russia more than just a pretext, they think it&rsquo;s good enough reason to&ensp;deliver a nuclear strike on Ukraine.
&ldquo;After the mushroom cloud, you can sort out who lied or made mistakes,&rdquo; they said, referring intimations of internal&ensp;blame within the Kremlin.
 Not all Russians feel&ensp;that way. Political&ensp;commentator Sergei Markov cautioned that the use of nuclear weapons would politically isolate Russia. The Chinese reaction is particularly harsh and stinging, responding to an increasing threat of&ensp;nuclear war from hardliners but more forcefully so in the wake of these recent assaults than ever before.
 A Dangerous Threshold&ensp;May Have Been Crossed Some Russian observers have&ensp;insisted Ukraine&rsquo;s destruction of several strategic nuclear bombers would be violating Russia&rsquo;s nuclear threshold. An attack on critical&ensp;military infrastructure that endangered Russia&rsquo;s ability to respond to a nuclear attack could be considered by Moscow under its revised nuclear doctrine as a reason for its own retaliatory strike.
 Popular television host Vladimir Solovyov announced that the Ukrainian attack was sufficient&ensp;justification for a nuclear retaliation. He proposed attacking the presidential office in Ukraine and&ensp;other targets outside Kyiv. Still, a nuclear attack&ensp;is a remote option. The political, economic and military costs&ensp;would be colossal.
 It would jeopardize its relations with vital partners, such as China and India,&ensp;and would face global censure. The human cost would also be potentially&ensp;catastrophic, further isolating Moscow in the wider world.
 Russia Could Choose More&ensp;Ruthless Conventional Attacks But despite the mounting tensions, many believe that should the Kremlin decide to use&ensp;force, it will be more inclined to escalate conventional attacks on Ukraine rather than deploy its nuclear weapons. Former Russian deputy energy minister, Vladimir Milov, who is out of the country, told AFP that Russia does not have enough infantry&ensp;to launch a new huge assault.
 Instead, he said, Moscow&ensp;could resort to more &ldquo;barbaric&rdquo; missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities. While the question of nuclear&ensp;use seems unlikely, Milov admitted that, when it came to Russia&rsquo;s leadership, &ldquo;cruelty stands in for strategy.
 More recently its power&ensp;has become more circumscribed. Ukraine has hit the Kerch Bridge for the third time against Russia and Crimea&ensp;and also kept on attacking Russia&rsquo;s infrastructure and cities with drones. Ukraine&rsquo;s previous seizures of portions of the Kursk region, and the West&rsquo;s loosening of&ensp;restraints against using arms against Russia, have only deepened Moscow&rsquo;s discomfort.
 The&ensp;situation is fluid. With Ukraine reveling in its military&ensp;success, those unintended and dangerous consequences loom. A wounded&ensp;and humiliated Kremlin could seek to reassert control &mdash; and the world is watching nervously.
&nbsp;

A series of brazen Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia&rsquo;s strategic air bases away from the battlefront&ensp;has elicited fierce responses across Russian media. The Kremlin is silent, awaiting the outcome of an official investigation, but people close to it and&ensp;pro-government figures and bloggers are up in arms. Some voices&ensp;are even urging nuclear retaliation.
&nbsp;

Ukraine Strikes Stir Russian Fury and Nuclear Threats

Molotov Attack at Boulder Rally A man is suspected of throwing a Molotov cocktail in late May at a pro-police rally in&ensp;Boulder.
 Mohammed Sabry Soliman, 45, was charged with federal hate crimes alongside state charges of attempted murder, assault and using an explosive&ensp;device. Planned weekly to promote aware- ness of Israeli captives in Gaza, the demonstration was reportedly disrupted by&ensp;the Egyptian man at the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on Sunday.
 Prosecutors say Soliman yelled &ldquo;Free Palestine&rdquo; before tossing two flammable devices&ensp;at the crowd, which caused injuries to eight individuals. Twelve people, four men and four women, ranging from 52 to 88 years-old were admitted with injuries ranging from minor&ensp;to serious burns for treatment. One of them was a Holocaust&ensp;survivor.
 Officials initially reported eight victims, but four additional&ensp;individuals later reported with minor injuries. The attack took place as Jews worldwide began celebrating the&ensp;Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
 Investigators found at least 16 unignited Molotov cocktails and a backpack sprayer filled with&ensp;octane gasoline near the scene. Soliman was in disguise as a gardener, in an orange vest, so he could deceive the group and come close to it without&ensp;being recognized. He is said to have taught himself how to construct Molotov cocktails&ensp;by watching videos online.
 Suspicious Admits&ensp;to Intention and Motivation Soliman told the FBI he had planned the attack for a year and decided to do it once his&ensp;daughter graduated from high school, according to an FBI affidavit. He reportedly confessed to investigators that he had intended to&ensp;&ldquo;kill all Zionists,&rdquo; and would have &ldquo;committed the same crime again&rdquo; had he been given to opportunity. Soliman, 30, also told them he had looked up how to shoot a firearm, but&ensp;because he was an undocumented immigrant, couldn&rsquo;t purchase a gun, so decided to make a homemade bomb instead.
 He said he had driven up from Colorado Springs to Boulder,&ensp;arriving at the protest five minutes before it started. They&ensp;say he stopped and bought gas on the way and left behind his iPhone in his home, with farewell messages for his wife and their five children. His wife later handed the&ensp;phone over to officials.
 Officials said there was no&ensp;prior indication Soliman was a threat. In&ensp;a brief court appearance on Monday via video from Boulder County Jail, Mr. Soliman appeared in an orange jumpsuit and answered only procedural queries. A formal filing of charges&ensp;is set to take place on Thursday.
 Background&ensp;and Immigrations Information Soliman arrived in Colorado Springs three years ago, after&ensp;17 years in Kuwait. He came to California in 2022 on a non-immigrant visa&ensp;that expired in February 2023. He applied for asylum&ensp;a month later. He started driving for Uber in 2023, officials said, had gone through all&ensp;background and verification checks.
 The case has generated political fallout, including calls for&ensp;tougher immigration enforcement and for national security measures. Public figures have expressed&ensp;concern about extremists setting foot in and staying in the country.
 This is the latest act of violence in a string of thousands of attacks on Jewish communities across the US since the start&ensp;of the Israel-Gaza conflict.EThe Israel-Gaza conflict began on October 7, 2023 when Hamas launched an attack in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken captive. More than 54,470 in Gaza have since died, according to the health ministry run by the Islamist movement&ensp;Hamas.
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A man charged with attacking a pro-Israel event with Molotov cocktails in Boulder, Colorado, had been plotting the&ensp;attack for a year, federal investigators reportedly said.
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Colorado Firebomb Attack on Protesters Planned for a Year

&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t thrive by proving&ensp;each other wrong. The way we rise is&ensp;by not letting anyone go,&rdquo; Jiang said, emphasizing the need to cling to one another despite global divides. Her remarks came on the same day a federal&ensp;judge blocked efforts to curb foreign student enrollments at Harvard.
 The first Chinese woman to give a Harvard graduation speech, Jiang described how learning to study with friends from different countries had taught her to &ldquo;dance through each&ensp;other&rsquo;s traditions&rdquo; and &ldquo;carry the weight of each other&rsquo;s worlds.&rdquo; &ldquo;If we still believe in a shared future, then we are not&ensp;going to forget: those whom we call enemies &ndash; they, too, are human,&rdquo; she said. In essence,&ensp;in seeing their humanity, we see our own.&rdquo;
 Online Attitudes&ensp;in China and the US The speech&ensp;soon went viral on Chinese social media, with many saying it was profoundly moving. One said her words made them&ensp;cry, while another praised how Jiang articulated the feelings of Chinese students on an international stage. On the popular online&ensp;forum Red Note, another person wrote, &ldquo;You may not have changed them, but they&rsquo;ve heard you &hellip; As more and more people speak out like you, you will eventually move and change others.&rdquo;
 Yet some Chinese users wondered if Jiang&rsquo;s privileged background made her more the exception than the rule as representative of the general student&ensp;body. Other commenters jeered at her and sarcastically advised her to stay in the US: &ldquo;So smart should stay in United States&rdquo; and &ldquo;I wish she can keep shining for&ensp;overseas and keep away from us.&rdquo;
 At the same time, some of her critics in the US questioned her purported links to a group that has been described as being backed by&ensp;Chinese Communist Party. One of Mr. Jiang&rsquo;s father works for a&ensp;group that serves as a diplomatic arm of the party, which has been active in mobilizing students in China for the party, according to a person familiar with the plans for the speech, and conservatives have used that connection to accuse Harvard of having invited a speaker who is tied to a &ldquo;CCP-funded and monitored&rdquo; organization. The same account has previously published other&ensp;controversial and politicised content. Some Chinese users replied that the organization is actually supported by&ensp;leading American companies and foundations.
 International Students and Harvard&rsquo;s Global&ensp;Community Jiang&ensp;studied at Cardiff Sixth Form College in Wales during her final high school years and received an undergraduate degree at Duke University before entering Harvard. Part of the reason for her speech was no doubt personal, but&ensp;it was also made at a time when some in the US have become more suspicious of Chinese students.
 Today, Harvard enrolls approximately 6,800 international students who make up more than 27 percent of the&ensp;University&rsquo;s total student population. About a third are from China, more than 700 came from&ensp;India.
 Jiang&rsquo;s&ensp;message of one humanity reverberates to the present day as an inspiration for believers and as a source of ire for detractors&mdash;demonstrating the murky quagmire of education, politics, and international relations.
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A graduation speech by a student at Harvard University has triggered a wave of anger in the United States and abroad, after she joked about getting her degree on a bear-sized pillowcase with the Chinese written language scribbled all over it. Jiang Yurong, who had studied international development, urged global unity and understanding in her speech, which came shortly after the United States said it&ensp;would tighten visa rules on Chinese students.

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