They've been communicating regularly for the past year. The whole point of this exercise of meeting in person is to send a message to militarily and sexually impotent Putin that his "red lines" are no longer important.

>As Ukrainian forces sustained intensified Russian attacks in the east of the country, the top U.S. and Ukrainian military officers met for the first time at a secret location in southeastern Poland as Kyiv pressed the need for increased supplies of Western arms in its defense against Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

>A U.S. military spokesman said Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, met with General Valeriy Zaluzhniy, Ukraine's military chief, at a base near Poland's border with Ukraine on January 17.

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>Zaluzhniy confirmed the meeting, writing on Twitter: "My first personal meeting with #GenMilley, Chairman of @thejointstaff happened in Poland."

>He said he "extended my gratitude for the unwavering support & assistance" provided by the United States and other allies. He added that he "outlined the urgent needs" of the Ukrainian military that "will accelerate our victory."

>Żaryn reported that some hostile actions this year could be directly linked to the activities of pro-Russian hacker groups. In particular, hackers were exposed over attacking the official page of the Sejm in December when the government cyber security watchdog, CSIRT GOV, discovered issues with the access to the parliament’s website of (Sejm.gov.pl).

>"Analysis of the data showed that the access denial to the site was the result of an attack by the pro-Russian group NoName057(16). One of the targets designated by the group on Telegram was the website of our parliament," said the spokesman.

>He added that this attack was a response to the adoption by the Sejm of Poland of a resolution recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

?Żaryn noted that such incidents in cyberspace are typical of Russia's response to steps by other countries that Russia deems unfavorable or inconvenient. He said Kremlin-linked hacker groups launch dDos, phishing and ransomware attacks to destabilize, intimidate, and wreak havoc.

>In addition, Russian hackers use fake websites to pursue aggressive action. For example, in early December, the CSIRT GOV Poland team received information about a phishing website impersonating the government platform Gov.pl. From the content of the fake website, it appeared that the President of Poland had allegedly signed a decree on the payment of compensation to Polish residents financed from European funds. Through the "I'd like to know" link, the hackers tried to obtain users' personal data before redirecting them to a phishing payment card page under the guise of charging a fee for confirming EU compensation. The Homeland Security Agency has blocked the malign effort.

>"This is a typical operation aimed at sowing chaos, devaluing the state, as well as collecting personal data and committing financial extortion," emphasized the Commissioner.

>Żaryn also said that cyberattacks are increasingly being used to spread Russian disinformation and obtain data and confidential information by Russian intelligence. He added that the operation performed simultaneously by these two methods is referred to as GhostWriter. It involves attacks on email addresses and accounts in social networks of public figures from Central and Eastern European countries, mainly from Poland. He emphasized that perpetrators are trying to seize control of information platforms for spreading Russian disinformation. In recent months, this operation has focused on Poland.

>Orlen quit purchases of Russian oil transported on tankers when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

>Olkowicz also said that currently Orlen's refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania obtained 70 percent of its crude from non-Russian sources, which compares to an almost 100 percent reliance on Russia in 2015.

>Under its contract with Rosneft, Orlen receives 300,000 tonnes of crude every month. Under the second contract with Russia's Tatneft, which expires in December 2024, the Polish company buys 200,000 tonnes of oil a month.

>China has been conducting reclamation activities in unoccupied regions of the Spratly Islands like Eldad Reef, Whitsun Reef, Lankiam Cay and Sandy Cay, reported The Hongkong Post.

>The Spratly Islands is an archipelago which lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam in the South China Sea.

>Satellite images from US officials show new land formations around the Spratly Islands. A Chinese vessel with a hydraulic excavator has been seen operating near the islands.

>China occupies seven islands and rocks in the Spratlys. The country has been militarizing them with runways, ports and radar systems. The islands which are believed to have rich gas and mineral deposits are claimed in whole by China and in parts by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.