Western Ukraine border blocked
Kyiv: Polish farmers’ protests endanger Ukraine
February 19, 2024, 2:58 p.m
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Six border crossings are currently blocked by tractors on the Polish-Ukrainian border. Hundreds of trucks are stuck as a result. This also alarms Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakow. He calls on Poland to solve the problem immediately.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakow has described the blockades by Polish farmers on their shared border as a “direct threat to the security” of his country. “Such actions have a negative impact on our confrontation with the common enemy Russia,” explained Kubrakow on the online network Facebook.
Six checkpoints are currently blocked on the Polish side. The situation is most difficult at the Jagodyn-Dorohusk border crossing, where freight traffic has come to a complete standstill. The Polish side said that around 600 trucks were currently waiting to leave Poland in Dorohusk. “The estimated waiting time for this number of trucks to leave is about 232 hours,” said Michal Derus, spokesman for the Chamber of Tax Administration in Lublin, eastern Poland. However, no trucks entered Poland from the Ukrainian side either. It is therefore a “total blockade”.
Ukraine relies on imports and exports
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure, coaches are also affected by the blockade. “Women and children who have become refugees after fleeing the war and who return to their homeland for various reasons must not become hostages of commercial interests,” emphasized Minister Kubrakow. He expects Poland to take concrete measures to prevent such situations and solve the problem.
Polish farmers have been blocking border crossings for weeks to protest against “unfair competition” from Ukrainian companies and EU climate protection requirements. The organizers blame relaxed EU regulations for Ukrainian companies for the lack of sales. Not least because of the war and Russian blockades in the Black Sea, Ukraine is heavily dependent on road traffic with EU member Poland for its imports and exports. The situation could worsen further on Tuesday if Polish farmers call for a blockade of the entire border with Ukraine.