Border blockade: Ukrainian government says all conditions of Polish carriers are met

The Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine does not stop the dialogue with the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland on the issues of blocking the border, in particular by Polish carriers.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Serhiy Derkach during a conversation with Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Poland Pawel Ganzazh, the press service of the Ukrainian ministry reports.

“We are receiving signals that carriers are allegedly joining the blockade of Polish farmers. The latter suspended their protest after reaching an agreement with the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure. Part of these agreements included points agreed to by our Ministry. We kept our word and fulfilled everything we promised. My colleague assured me that they are doing everything in their power to prevent the carriers from resuming their protest. The issues that have not yet been resolved are the responsibility of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland,” emphasized Derkach.

He also informed the Polish side about the recorded cases when some trucks pass to Ukraine bypassing the blockade, i.e. without queues. The Ministry of Infrastructure records such cases and expects an official response.

During the conversation, Derkach emphasized that the issue of extending the “transport visa-free regime” is important and urgent for Ukraine. Therefore, the Ministry of Infrastructure has asked the European Commission to speed up the process of preparing for the extension of the Liberalization Agreement, to hold relevant meetings and negotiations.

At the same time, even if the carriers do not return to the border, the situation remains difficult due to the blockade by farmers and has already gone beyond the bounds of civilized protest. Currently, more than 2,000 trucks remain blocked on the Polish side of the border.

Blockade of the border with Poland

As a reminder, on February 9, Polish farmers began blockading three checkpoints on the border with Ukraine, and on February 12, the protests spread to two more checkpoints. Since February 16, Polish farmers have blocked the sixth checkpoint for the movement of goods.

According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, on February 20, Polish protesters intensified the blocking of traffic on the border with Ukraine.

In particular, at a number of checkpoints, Polish farmers completely blocked truck traffic, and near the Dolgobychuv-Uhryniv, Zosin-Ustyluh, and Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska checkpoints, they restricted the movement of buses, trucks, and cars in both directions for several hours.

The Ukrainian government is considering banning imports of agricultural products from Poland in response to the border blockade.

Tags: Poland, protests, Ukraine