From November 1, 2025, Poland will stop accepting Ukrainian refugees in collective accommodation centers, with the exception of members of so-called protected groups: pensioners, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. This was reported by Polish Radio, citing a decision taken by the Polish Council of Ministers at a meeting on July 16.
According to Joanna Bachanek, press secretary of the Mazovia Province, every Ukrainian citizen has the right to free accommodation in shelters for 120 days after arriving in Poland.
After this period, a period of financial participation begins, i.e., additional payments for accommodation and food.
“More than half of the residents of collective accommodation centers already pay for part of their stay. After November 1, such centers will operate exclusively for the elderly, pregnant women, and people with disabilities,” Bahanek said.
According to the authorities, there are currently about 3,000 Ukrainians living in the Mazovia Province, while there are only about 1,000 places available.
For the remaining Ukrainian citizens, the Polish authorities are planning to launch the “Wspólnie do niezależności” (“Together for Independence”) program, which provides:
The program is expected to enable gradual adaptation and transition from a system of state support to a model of independent living.
Voting in the presidential election began in Poland on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. local time (8:00 a.m. Kyiv time – IF-U), according to the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Thirteen candidates are participating in the election. Voting will continue until 9:00 p.m. An election silence is in effect in the country until the polls close.
“Almost 29 million citizens are eligible to vote. Polling stations are open throughout the country – more than 32,000, with another 511 stations operating abroad,” the report said.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center released a video analysis dedicated to the most important elections in the world in 2025. For more details, see here — https://youtu.be/u1NMbFCCRx0?si=QeURHol_f1zN_jLE
The GastroFamily franchise chain has opened its fourth Bilyi Nalyv ciderery in Poland, the brand reported on its Instagram.
“The Ukrainian ciderery Bilyi Nalyv has started working in the Polish city of Lodz. The bar is located on the main street of the city – Piotrkowska, also known as Pietrina,” the network informed.
According to the report, the establishment operates on a franchise basis. Eldar’s franchisee is from Vinnytsia. Back in 2023, he and his partners opened the first Bilyi Nalyv in Europe, and in 2025, he and his wife decided to open their own bar in Lodz.
Like other establishments of this format, the ciderhouse in Łódź has a lot of neon and dark wood in its interior. A summer terrace will soon appear. DJ parties will be held here every Friday and Saturday.
“Bily Nalyv in Lodz is the fourth establishment of the chain in Poland: bars also operate in Warsaw, Wroclaw, and Gdansk. The chain promises to open another location in Poland in the fall.
GastroFamily unites almost 65 establishments. GastroFamily launched its international franchise in 2022, with 15 brands available: “Bilyi Nalyv, BPSh, Chicken Kyiv, Mushlya, Varenyky Now, Oxota na Ovets, etc.
According to a study by the Ukrainian restaurant automation company Poster POS, the GastroFamily franchise chain opened 7 restaurants in Ukraine and 2 in Poland in 2024.
“The year started with the Borsuk restaurant in Lukianivka, Kyiv, which was hit by a blast wave five days before the opening and damaged its equipment. They quickly replaced the windows, repaired the damage, and continued to operate. Then they opened six Bilyi Nalyv bars in Ukraine (Bila Tserkva, Lutsk, Rivne, Irpin, two in Kyiv) and two in Poland (Warsaw, Gdansk),” the study says.
According to the Bilyi Nalyv cideries chain on its Instagram, it celebrated its seventh anniversary on April 1, 2025. During this time, the sommeliers of the establishments have bottled “tons of cider, hugged thousands of guests and created hundreds of reasons for smiles.”
Poland plans to spend 5% of the country’s GDP on defense next year, and possibly this year, Radio Liberty reported on Friday, citing Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk.
“This is a huge amount of money that is spent not by the government, but by Polish citizens,” he said.
The deputy minister added that the government wants to create conditions “for every Pole and every Polish woman to be able to undergo military training.”
“It is in the country’s interest that everyone can undergo such training, and it doesn’t matter if it lasts one day, two days or a week, or if it is basic voluntary military service, but the country must create such conditions,” Tomczyk added.
Trade between Ukraine and Poland amounted to $11.7 billion in 2024, of which Poland exported almost $7 billion to Ukraine and imported $4.6 billion worth of Ukrainian goods, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval said following the results of the Polish-Ukrainian dialogue.
According to him, the event was attended by representatives of Polish business, including Orlen and Anwil, with whom they discussed cooperation in the field of fertilizers and bioethanol development.
The minister said that Ukraine imports a total of 1.5 million tons of diesel fuel and gasoline from Poland and $354 million worth of mineral fertilizers.
“All these imports make up a large part of Ukrainian agricultural products. For example, to grow a ton of Ukrainian corn, we need to import 75% of the ingredients. That is, the profitability of international companies, including Polish ones, depends on the success of Ukrainian farmers,” the minister wrote on Telegram.
Koval expressed his belief in the importance of a dialogue between Ukrainian and Polish businesses. It should be based on numbers, cold reason, and mutually beneficial cooperation: the better Ukraine’s agricultural sector develops, the more benefits there will be for the Polish side and vice versa.
Kowal called on Polish businesses to invest in Ukraine’s agro-processing industry, which needs to increase the added value of its products.
“We appreciate the friends who were with us when it was hard, and these friends will be with us when it is easy. And it will be easy soon, because the darkest time is before dawn… We just need to endure. That is why he urged us to find common ground. After all, Ukraine is not a threat, Ukraine is a partner for moving forward,” summarized the Minister of Agrarian Policy.
World central banks in November, according to preliminary estimates by the World Gold Council (WGC), increased the amount of gold in their foreign exchange reserves by 53.4 tons.
“Looking to the end of 2024, central banks around the world continued to play a leading role in gold demand,” said WGC analyst Krishan Gopaul. – “November was another month of gold purchases, with central banks adding a total of 53 tons to official reserves, according to available data. This continues the trend observed throughout the year: central banks, mostly from emerging markets, remained active buyers of gold, driven by a desire to find a stable and reliable asset in the face of global economic uncertainty.”
The largest buyers of gold in November were Poland (21 tons), Uzbekistan (9 tons), India (8.4 tons), and Kazakhstan (5.1 tons). According to Gopol, for the first time since April, China reported an increase in reserves (plus 5 tons). Other buyers included Jordan (4.1 tons), Turkey (3 tons), the Czech Republic (1.6 tons), Ghana (1.2 tons), Mongolia and Malta (less than a ton).
Singapore was the main seller of gold (5.2 tons). Also in December, the central bank of Finland reported a 10% reduction in its gold reserves to 44 tons, a sale that most likely took place the same month, WGC said.
