Ukrainian grain scattered on the border: Zelensky says Poland violates “principles of solidarity”
In his evening address on Thursday, February 15, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to Polish protesters damaging Ukrainian trucks by spilling grain on the asphalt. He said it was “a clear violation of the principles of solidarity.”
The relevant appeal was published on the president’s Telegram.
According to Zelenskyy, he instructed Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to speak urgently with his Polish counterpart. The president added that Ukrainian grain on the asphalt is “evidence of how emotions can become dangerous.”
“We in Ukraine perceive as a clear violation of the principles of solidarity what has happened and continues to happen to our citizens and Ukrainian cargo. Ukrainian grain on the asphalt is not just a few dramatic shots, it is evidence of how emotions can become dangerous. We have to defend good neighborliness and solidarity, which are changing the history of the whole of Europe for the better,” the President said.
He added that Ukraine, together with Poland, should decide what the attitude to Russian grain imports to the EU should be. According to Zelenskyy, this is necessary to protect society, as well as Ukrainian and Polish farmers.
“And we must always agree with each other, Ukrainians and Poles, so that our common enemy in Moscow cannot unleash conflicts in our border area against the economy, borders, and sovereignty of each of us,” Zelensky said.
On February 11, videos were posted online showing Polish protesters damaging Ukrainian trucks and throwing grain out of them near the Dorohusk border crossing with Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Warsaw, Vasyl Zvarych, called the actions a “shameful and insulting crime,” saying that Ukrainian diplomats had appealed to the Polish police. Law enforcement officials launched an investigation.
Polish Minister of Agriculture Czeslaw Sekerski then apologized for the spilled Ukrainian grain.
On January 17, Sekerski said that the European Union was preparing a draft resolution extending duty-free trade with Ukraine until June 2025, rejecting Poland’s proposal to reintroduce tariffs on some “sensitive products.”
Poland demands the introduction of a “safeguard clause” for Ukrainian products, which provides for the possibility of applying regional safeguard measures if a market problem affects not the entire EU but one member state or region.
The Polish Independent Farmers’ Trade Union Solidarity said that Brussels’ position was “unacceptable”. On February 2, the trade union categorically opposed imports of agricultural and food products from Ukraine.
Polish farmers also announced that on February 20 they would block all checkpoints on the border with Ukraine, as well as communication hubs and entrances to transshipment railroad stations and seaports.
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