Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Poland opened a new canal Saturday linking the Vistula Lagoon to the Gdańsk Bay, allowing ships to visit the port of Elbląg without needing Russian permission to use its Baltiysk Strait.
The country has been a strong ally to its neighbor, Ukraine, amid its war with Russia and timed the opening to occur on the 83rd anniversary of the invasion of Poland by the Soviet Union in World War II.