News from overnight from the AP Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were killed in a plane crash in Western Russia. The New York Times reported later that this plane crash also claimed the lives of a lot of Polish leaders as well.
The crash came as a staggering blow to Poland, wiping out a large swath of the country’s leadership, including the commanders of all four branches of the military, the head of the central bank, the president and many of his top advisors.
Poor visibility was a factor as his plane hit the treetops coming in for a landing at the airport in Smolensk, Russia as he was arriving for a ceremony commemorating the murder of 20,000 Polish officers by the Soviet secret police after the Soviet Union invaded Poland in a pact with Nazi Germany. This is absolutely devastating to this nation to lose so many of its leaders, and obviously devastating to the families involved.
Pray for the victims’ families and for the people of Poland as they mourn for this great loss. Pray as well for the person who will be President Kaczynski’s both interim (the leader of the lower House of Parliament) and permanent successor. Pray for the elections and transition which according to the Polish Constitution must take place within 60 days.