Polish PM addresses nation as the political crisis deepens.

Good evening, I'm Maciej Mikos and you're watching World News Tonight live from Warsaw. Ukrainians evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleschki are back on home soil as Russian strikes continue across Ukraine. The country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, heads to Turkey for a diplomatic push in preparation of peace talks. We'll have extended coverage of the situation in Ukraine in just a moment, but first here are the latest headlines. Kyiv will have to wait for US Patriot missiles deliveries. Political crisis over Poland's top court and the US State Secretary welcomes Poland to the G20. Families are being reunited in Ukraine after a rare evacuation from Russian-occupied Oleschki, made possible by a local ceasefire. As Russian attacks continue elsewhere in the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Turkey for talks aimed at advancing peace efforts. Let's watch my reports. After years of Russian occupation, Mikhailo is back with his family. His wife and daughters embrace him, they are together again in Ukraine. It's still unclear how many people wanted to leave and how many made it out. Until we got on the buses, we were afraid of everything, we were so worried and nervous. The journey from the Russian-occupied town of Oleschki led through occupied Crimea, southern Russia and Belarus. A local ceasefire, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, made the escape possible. What do you want to do? First of all, we need to think about humanitarian issues and about the people. In this case, multiple countries made a united effort to help people who faced a humanitarian disaster in Oleschki. This common effort was evident at every stage. I believe this is ultimately a positive breakthrough. But reports from Oleschki describe confusion and fear of detention in Russia. Children's safety is another concern. Ukraine's security service accuses Yana Lantratova, now overseeing Russia's side of the evacuation, of helping deport two children from Kherson in 2022. But every safe evacuation matters. If you can save at least one life, and now we're saying, you know, hundreds of people that are leaving the territory that was basically besieged. I mean, no food delivery since May of this year, so people actually ate what they could grow on their own garden near the house. Across the Dnipro Ukrainian-held, Kherson has also had a break from the attacks. It's important that Kherson was granted the period of quiet it so desperately needed. But soldiers quoted by Bild feel Russia is using the pause to prepare another offensive. Elsewhere, the attacks continue. Zelensky says Friday's energy strikes left around 280,000 households without power. Civilians were killed, including children. Not an isolated case, it comes on the heels of attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and Zaporizhia. So, um... All of these attacks are violations of international humanitarian law and they must stop. Zelensky has arrived in Istanbul for talks with President Erdogan ahead of possible negotiations next month. Kiev wants safer Black Sea shipping while accusing Russia of repeatedly attacking civilian vessels. Ankara is pushing to halt attacks on commercial shipping. We view the intense attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea with concern and, in line with the principles of freedom of navigation in the high seas, we call upon all parties to exercise common sense. Meanwhile, tankers carrying Russian diesel are heading for the United States, according to Greenpeace tracking. Ukraine is striking back. A refinery is reportedly on fire in Samara after a drone attack. Piotr Kućma, TVP World. European leaders are reopening direct channels with Vladimir Putin ahead of renewed peace talks on Ukraine. But with Russian strikes intensifying and civilian casualties mounting, how do Ukrainians feel about Europe's diplomatic outreach to Moscow? Our correspondent Oskar Terji reports from Kiev. Russia launched multiple waves of strikes using ballistic missiles and drones on Ukraine this week, causing significant amounts of civilian casualties across the country as Russia continued its campaign of energy strikes targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure. More than 350 Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the start of September. Now this week, also saw a partial re-engagement with Moscow from several European leaders. The president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, and the prime minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Storre, both had a conversation with Vladimir Putin ahead of the resumption of trilateral talks. between the United States, Kyiv and Moscow begins in early November. Now we are here on the streets of central Kyiv speaking to residents of the Ukrainian capital on how they view this re-engagement with Moscow from European leaders. I think it's a good thing that they are trying to make their best efforts in bringing the And to to the war, but I don't think it has any effect so far. Our leader, as well as our opposite leader, they need to talk and to end this war. If we're talking about like polite conversation with Putin, I think it's impossible for Ukrainians because we wouldn't... So that is the view from the streets of Kyiv on how Ukrainians are viewing this re-engagement with European leaders and Moscow. But the situation remains critical here in Ukraine as Russia is expected to continue its campaign of bombarding Ukrainian energy facilities. And while Ukraine... Still lacks sufficient air defence munitions to defend itself. Ukraine is expecting more significant civilian casualties like we have seen this week. I'm Oz Katergy reporting from Kyiv for TVP World. Washington has approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles for Ukraine, but there's a catch. Deliveries could take years. As Turkey calls for immediate air defenses, the announcement comes just days before the U.S. midterms, raising questions about the Trump administration's timing. Kazimierz Wysiak reports from Michigan. On Friday, the US State Department approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine worth more than two billion dollars. These would be funded by Germany, Norway and Canada, among others. Ukraine has been asking for these Patriot missiles for weeks as Russia has been relentlessly pounding Ukrainian civilians. However, there is a catch. These missiles would only be delivered in the next few years, potentially by the year 2030. That's a catch that President Zelensky of Ukraine says defeats the whole purpose. Ukraine is grateful to the U.S. State Department and the U.S. administration overall for granting this authorization. But we're asking for decisions that can guarantee the protection of lives not the day after tomorrow or sometime later, but at the very moment the threat is there, when Russia is killing and destroying. Now all of that is happening as we are just on the cusp of the midterm elections here in the United States and President Trump and his administration has been taking some heat for their approach towards Ukraine and the war, the recent criticism of Kyiv and the warming up to Vladimir Putin. This criticism came not only from American voters But also from some Republican members of Congress. And some experts say this latest package is a sign of growing divides in the republican administration and the fact that we are in the middle of these midterm elections. The approval of the patriots, albeit on a long-term basis, is a reflection of a divided administration. The issue is, is that that's a longer term provision with the Patriots. It does not deal with the immediate gap in air defense interceptors that Ukraine faces. Now here on the ground in Michigan, one of the key swing states in this election, there are plenty of Americans who have roots from Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. So we ask some of them how they feel about this administration's approach to Ukraine and the war. But I do want to ask you, do you think that any Ukrainians here and Ukrainian-Americans will be voting Republican in this election? I sure hope not. I'm very deeply saddened that our government has not embraced the fact that we are the ones that are being attacked. We are not the aggressor. I hope that right people win because through the Democrats and Republicans you have people who are very supportive for Ukraine, who are understanding this global problem and global communications. So I hope right people will come. for Democrats and Republicans. And the stakes are high for Ukraine in this election. It's Congress which controls the budget. So if the Democrats take back control of the House, they could potentially send more aid the way of Ukraine. However, still, it's the high fuel prices and corruption which are the main issues for American voters in this election, whether Ukrainians like it or not. From Michigan, Kazimierz Wysiak, TVP World. Two contrasting messages for Poland at the G20 ministerial summit in Atlanta. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, takes aim at Warsaw, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praises Poland's growing global influence and welcomes its seat at the table. Julia Gdula reports. The G20 ministerial summit in Atlanta, which kicked off on Friday, was now without its share of diplomatic spats. The European leaders snubbed the traditional group photo. Thank you very much. There will be no group photo in which our European partners appear alongside Mr. Lavrov. Because exactly what I said yesterday still applies. There is no business as usual with Russia. Lavrov, who was treated as persona non grata despite Russia being a formal member of the G20, did not take the snub well, apparently recalling the strong message delivered to him by Poland's foreign minister. Tell your boss, enough is enough. He took a swipe at Poland. Poland's voice is far from being constructive, we're all aware of their stance, which they they regularly express at international events. And while Moscow appeared less than pleased with Poland's presence, Washington sent a very different message, firmly backing Warsaw's place at the table. I'd also like to take a moment to note the inclusion of Poland as a full participant in this G20. President Trump believes their economic success and growing global influence is exactly what the G20 needs to tackle the major economic challenges we all face. And we're very excited to have them with us here today and this week. Sitting alongside Sikorski, Rubio also used the opportunity to discuss the next steps in strengthening Polish-American cooperation. We were able to exchange not only views, But also ideas on... On common projects, I can't publicly say all of it, but... Expect more Polish-American initiative on the international scene. Ukraine and the prospects for peace talks were also on the agenda, despite Kiev's absence. Ukraine absolutely has to have a place at the table. It's their future that's at stake. And Europe has to be saying the same thing. Look, it's Brussels' future as well. But when it comes to peace negotiations, the goalposts seem to keep moving. The stated plan is to hold another round of talks in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. Yet Moscow has reportedly floated the idea of replacing a face-to-face Zelensky-Putin meeting with a phone call. And now there's another proposal on the table. If he wants to meet, he must come to Moscow. This is normal practice in diplomacy and in real life. If you want a meeting, then the guy with whom you want to meet will tell you how this meeting can be organized. So, once again, the prospect of a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders remains uncertain. Thank you. A bitter dispute over Perven's key court has escalated into a political crisis. The centrist government and conservative president Karol Nawrocki are locked in a power struggle, as protesters and police face off outside the court. Karolina Jarzwińska and Piotr Miszczuk report. We are now outside Poland's constitutional tribunal, where a dispute between the centrist government and the conservative president has escalated into a full-blown political crisis. This is Poland's opposition-aligned president pushing his way into the Constitutional Tribunal building on Friday, seemingly ignoring the several justices who were awaiting him outside. The president did confront some of them once in sight. You are not the judges of the Constitutional Tribunal and you are occupying this building illegally. This is because the president declined to swear in five justices Jolly nominated by the parliament, the judges took their oaths in the Polish parliament instead, but were prevented from hearing cases by the head of the court. Unfortunately, in this case, the president seems to be more part of the problem than the solution because he refused to take the oath of the properly elected constitutional tribunal judges. If the president behaves in the manner we witnessed yesterday at the constitutional tribunal, there is not a shadow of a doubt that this constitutes a breach of the tribunal's political neutrality and its independence. The The judges have deposed the president and his deputy. Pointing the most senior justice, one of the sidelined five, to preside over the judicial body. Od wielu, wielu lat. For many, many years, the Constitutional Tribunal has been virtually non-functional. And recently, the fact that it is not functioning has constituted a flagrant violation of the foundations of the rule of law. But the crisis is not new. It's part of a decade-long tug-of-war over who can hear cases, with the court under the previous law and justice government falling full of the EU rule of law. The Polish Constitutional Tribunal, following the changes introduced to it in 2015 and 2016, is no longer an independent court. It has been heavily politicized. It has been staffed with unlawfully appointed judges. Some cases have reportedly been delayed for as long as 12 years, while around a thousand remain pending. At the same time, officials say politically initiated cases were often fast-tracked, with decisions coming within weeks. Three years into the new government and an ongoing standoff between Prime Minister Tusk and President Navrotsky, the tribunal is still far from meeting EU standards. Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of lawlessness under the law and justice government, this is a difficult and sometimes painful process, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way. Action had to be taken to... ...to enable the tribunal to function again. The The situation has spiraled into a high-profile case, possibly triggering another constitutional crisis. The ruling coalition argues that drastic action was necessary to restore judicial independence. The opposition accuses it of staging a coup against the court, with former Prime Minister Morawiecki announcing plans to seek a no-confidence vote against. Polish politics runs on polarisation and both sides are benefiting from that and the idea, the objective of both sides is to get maximum mobilisation of their voters at next year's general election. Protests have returned to the court's doorstep and police have been called in amid security concerns. The president is now attempting to broker a way forward through urgent talks with parliamentary leaders. For TVP World, Karolina Jaźwińska. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke on the constitutional tribunal crisis in his televised address just a few moments ago. The Prime Minister emphasized his confidence that the constitutional tribunal will begin to function autonomously and in accordance with the constitution. He added that his role as a representative of the executive branch is to ensure the tribunal's security and the conditions necessary for its work. Bulgarians head to the polls for a presidential runoff as rising tensions in the Black Sea put national security at the heart of the campaign. Two candidates are divided over how to deal with Russia, but the competing approach is shaping the country's political future. Sonia Gatabishtan reports. Bulgarians are heading to the poles as ships are hit off their country's coast amid the growing standoff between Russian Ukraine and the Black Sea. And context matters. Most Bulgarians are quite wary of the security situation, especially most recently since these attacks are happening closer and closer to home. And naturally it has been utilized within the presidential campaign. The Sunday vote follows the first round of the presidential election on October 25th, which saw the current acting president, Ilyana Yeltova, in the lead ahead of the opposition candidate and ex-interim prime minister, Andrei Gurov. Asked by TVP World about the three biggest issues in this election, Gurov's campaign members said, Russian influence, Russian influence and Russian influence. There is nothing more dangerous for Bulgaria at this moment than the Russian influence. Yotova, previously a journalist and MEP, has invited closer dialogue with Moscow. Her candidacy has been endorsed by the ruling Progressive Bulgaria party. She's already... She is also well acquainted with the current prime minister, Roman Radev, having served as vice president during his presidency. Meanwhile, Bulgaria's government has faced criticism over its hesitance to attribute responsibility for the recent Black Sea attacks, which killed or wounded dozens of sailors to Russia. Giorov, the former deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, enjoys the support of pro-EU opposition parties Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change, and holds less sentiment towards the Kremlin. During his time as interim PM, Yudov signed a 10-year defense deal with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a move criticized by Yotova. The different approaches of the two were evident in their Thursday debate. I propose holding a security meeting and introducing a moratorium on hostilities in the Black Sea involving all six countries ... with access to it, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine and Russia. A moratorium is not actually a defense strategy, a silence is not defense. That's why the first thing that should have been done was to name the threat. With uncertainty on the horizon, both presidential candidates call for peace, but they verge over Russia's place in the process. For TUP World, I'm Sonia Agatabishchen. And now to discuss our main topics of the day, including the latest from Ukraine and the G20 summit, we're joined by John Swede, co-founder of the Intrep360. Good afternoon. Hey, good evening. Thanks for having me back on the show. Thank you for accepting the invitation. So the evacuation of Oleshky came to an end. What do you make of it? Well, it certainly doesn't make, you know, Putin an humanitarian. It's a Russian-occupied town. I think this is more along the lines of a prisoner exchange. Look, for the Ukrainian civilians that were allowed to evacuate the town and finally enjoy some form of safety, food, water, it's great for them. But at the end of the day, you have to look at the bigger picture. Because quite frankly, that one spot on the ground, if you look at what Russia is doing to the remainder of Ukraine, targeting civilians, killing children, nothing's changed. But it is a snapshot in time. And he thinks it's a good gesture, Will, and he's trying to appeal to President Trump. But do you think it has some, well, any potential to serve as a, well, blueprint for future humanitarian local ceasefires in Ukraine? Or was it just a mere pierced stand before the midterm elections in the US, as described by many? Yeah, that's a great question, because quite frankly, Putin's going to seize on whatever he thinks gives him an advantage. And if and if appealing to to President Trump gives him some sort of advantage, he's going to continue to try to do that. But at the end of the day, these are Russian occupied. towns or territories that are simply, you know, giving back Ukrainian citizens because they don't want to take care of them. So in my mind, it seems more like a prisoner exchange than actual humanitarian gesture. Again, great for the families, great for those individuals to be returned back to Ukraine. But at the end of the day, it just doesn't change the fact that Russia is slaughtering Ukrainians in their homes throughout the entire country. Right. So there's this local ceasefire in Oleshki, local ceasefire over Herzogin. But meanwhile, President Zelensky is in Turkey discussing the safety of the Black Sea. Now, what is he hoping to achieve there? Well, I think what he's hoping to achieve is to get Turkey's attention. Look, how many ships have been destroyed or sunk in the Black Sea over the past two weeks? And the number is somewhere between 10 to 15. But, you know, one of those vessels was a. Turkish flag cargo ship, which in a sense is a direct threat, a direct attack upon NATO. The remainder of those ships obviously were from other countries, but they occupied or they were sunk or damaged in NATO inclusion zones. And of course, right now, NATO is trying to discern whether or not that means it was actually a NATO territory or was it or was it something else? They need to do something. And I think an article for possession will probably be something that can help clarify that. But right now, it's a great area and Russia exploits great areas when you let them. Hmm. Ukraine, we have learned, will receive the delivery of, well, hundreds of US-made interceptors for their Patriot batteries, but it will take place in 2030. What do you think of it? Yeah, that was my first thought exactly, too, which is, okay, 400-something-plus of missiles. But production and delivery are two different things. And right now, Ukraine needs delivery. They need to be arming their Patriots. They need to be shooting down ballistic missiles. So while that briefs well in one area, I think the better solution would be what was originally proposed, which is providing Ukraine the ability to produce the Patriot missiles on their own by allowing them to have the license to produce it. I'm quite confident that they could probably... turn out more missiles in a six-month period of time than the U.S. manufacturers could. And what do you think of the timing of this announcement, just ahead of the midterms again? Yeah, again, it's smoke and screen, right? I mean, smoke and mirrors. It's a move in the right direction. But let's remember, 2030 is four years from now. So a lot could change in four years. They need something now. And what we've seen so far is that, if I'm not mistaken, the Secretary of Defense, Hedseff, is still sitting on paperwork that would actually ship. Or actually release Patriot missiles that have been purchased by NATO countries to Ukraine. So I think that would be a stronger message in saying we're going to allow you to purchase these in 2030. Now, the G20 ministerial summit with the participation of Russia and Poland came to an end. How do you rate it? Well, I can tell you, I think about 18 of those countries didn't want a Lavrov president at all. OK, and I think it's quite ironic that Lavrov comes in there and questions whether or not Poland should be invited to the G20, considering his track record. Look, at the end of the day, Russia is afraid of Poland. Poland has the fourth largest military in Europe. They've been building that military since 2014 when I was assigned to UConn and worked very close with the Polish military. They're afraid of Poland. And I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing talk. of the united states reconsidering positioning soldiers in poland because of the relationship if you will business relationships that are getting ready to take place between the united states and in russia and that may eventually become one of the points so we will see how this all works out right because polish foreign minister said something like there will be more cooperation but the with the us but he couldn't disclose you know any details so so so what do you think he He could be talking about. You know, that's a great question. You get two stories, and it's like there used to be a game show in the United States in the 70s called To Tell the Truth, where you had to discern which person was actually telling the whole story. And right now it's really hard to tell because Russia says something, the United States says something, now you've got Poland that's in the middle that's also saying something. And then, of course, you have Zelensky, which is providing additional input either. So you have to work through all that, and that's playing all out in social media. It is very confusing. For a lot of people, and that confusion, I believe, works probably best for Russia than it works for the other three countries. Now, let me quote the communique we found today on the page of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. So, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow is aware of a credible threat of a mass casualty event today, October 31st, and the Tsaritsyn Museum Reserve in Moscow, the U.S. government, is coordinating with appropriate Russian authorities on a response. So, what do you make of it? And again, in the context of the upcoming midterm elections. Absolutely. The context of the midterm elections, also the context of business deals that are being negotiated between the United States and Russia that supposedly will lead to some sort of, you know, peace or, you know, ceasefire in Ukraine. But look, at the end of the day, the United States always shares information on terrorist attacks with other countries. And I don't think this is an exception. If they got wind that there was a possible terrorist attack that was going to occur in Russia, or if it was even in Poland or Ukraine, I think they would share that information. It's just what they do in the the diplomatic arena. But at the end of the day, it could also be seen as some sort of strategic messaging, both to Russia, but also to the U.S. population. As we enter, you know, the election is going to be, what, in three days, November 3rd. Right. Now, lastly, let me ask you about the hottest topic of the Polish politics lately. So do you think that the Trump administration is following the situation in Poland concerning the constitutional tribunal? And, well, can it also affect bilateral relations between the two countries? Well, of course, they're following it, and obviously they have a vested interest in what takes place in Poland. Again, we're considering putting U.S. bases there. We're considering other activities, of course, with Polish neighbors. So surely we are very interested in how the Polish government is going to look or is going to play out in at least the next six months but for the next couple of years. So you're looking for stability, and I'm sure... Both the Secretary of State and the folks there at Foggy Bottom, which is where our State Department is located in Washington, D.C., are following this very closely. John Sweet, co-founder of Interrep360, was our guest this evening. Thank you very much. Thanks. It's good to be back on the show. Appreciate it. Thank you. And thank you for watching and stay with us for more interviews and news here on TVP World.