- Russian military helicopter breaches Polish airspace near Kaliningrad. A Russian Mi-8 crossed into Polish airspace north of Braniewo at about 11:08 on Wednesday, penetrating roughly 300 metres and remaining for 42 seconds. Polish fighters were scrambled and ground air-defence units put on alert. Poland’s Operational Command said the character of the incident suggested Russia was testing Polish air-defence readiness. It comes amid an already heightened alert posture because of Russian strikes close to Poland’s borders.
- Nawrocki uses UN speech to put Russia, NATO and international law at the centre of Poland’s message. President Karol Nawrocki told the UN General Assembly that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reflected a longer history of aggression going insufficiently punished. He said Poland’s military build-up was for deterrence and defence, reaffirmed NATO as the guarantor of European security, called for a more effective UN, and argued that Central Europe should have a stronger voice in global forums including the G20. He also backed a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
- Major step towards the contract for Poland’s first nuclear plant. State-owned Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe and the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium have agreed the main commercial and legal terms of the EPC contract for the planned three-reactor AP1000 plant in Pomerania. The sides say they want to settle the remaining contractual terms by the end of 2026. It is one of the clearest concrete advances yet in the long-delayed first Polish nuclear-power project.
- Sikorski confronts Russia at the UN Security Council. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski used Wednesday’s Security Council debate to argue that Russia lacks the economic strength to prevail against Ukraine backed by Europe and NATO. Addressing Sergei Lavrov, who had already left the room, Sikorski urged Moscow to end the war.
- Poland quietly reopens a channel to Belarus. Sikorski confirmed meeting Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov in New York. They discussed the Polish-Belarusian border and regional security. Sikorski said Poland would be receptive if Minsk genuinely sought to improve relations; Lithuania, by contrast, has warned this week against easing European pressure on Belarus prematurely.
- Permanent US military presence remains a live Polish-American issue. Nawrocki’s foreign-policy chief Marcin Przydacz said Nawrocki and Donald Trump discussed a permanent US military presence in Poland in New York. Przydacz characterised the political decision as substantially agreed and said implementation now required work by the defence ministries and armed forces. Trump last week said “great progress” was being made, but no final basing agreement or location has yet been publicly announced.
- Fuel remains an increasingly painful economic and political issue. New estimates from Instrat put the total Polish cost of the six-month fuel shock following the Iran war at more than 23 billion złoty, around 20 billion of it borne by drivers and companies. E-petrol data cited Wednesday put average diesel at 8.99 zł/litre, with prices above 9 zł in some regions. The government and President Nawrocki remain divided over competing mechanisms for cutting prices and taxing or limiting oil-company profits.
- Serious railway incident near Łuków is under investigation. Two freight trains travelling in opposite directions struck concrete blocks deliberately placed on the tracks at Jedlanka. Neither derailed and nobody was injured, although both locomotives were damaged. Police said no explosives were found; the case is being investigated under provisions concerning causing a transport disaster. Authorities have not established a Russian or other sabotage link.
- ABW says it disrupted another alleged extremist terror plot. The Internal Security Agency detained Paweł G., whom prosecutors accuse of preparing an attack intended to kill multiple people. ABW says the case grew out of its investigation into an online neo-Nazi and extremist milieu, following the earlier detention of two 16-year-olds. He has been remanded in custody for three months; the allegations have not yet been tested at trial.
- Government health reforms heading to parliament amid doctors’ objections. The cabinet has approved a five-bill package covering medical pay and working-time limits, greater transparency in hospital recruitment and an extension of the current hospital network. The proposed basic pay ceiling equates to eight times the minimum wage for one full-time workload, with higher limits in some circumstances. Medical organisations argue that the proposals do not address underlying distortions in how services are valued. The Sejm could begin considering the package on 6 October.
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