“Solution” found to unblock truck crossing at Ukraine-Poland border - infrastructure ministry

Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction, Minister of Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure, said a solution had been found to unblock the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint.

That’s according to the Ministry’s press service, Ukrinform reports.

The Ministry will “temporarily suspend” the requirement for Polish carriers to obtain permits to ship products to Ukraine from any EU country," the report reads.

The decision is intended to settle the row involving the blocking by Polish carriers of the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint and to satisfy one of the key demands put up by the strikers as regards the fines Ukraine imposed for the lack of such permits.

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"Our position is unequivocal: such shipments do not fall under the Ukraine-EU agreement on cargo transportation and neither are they bilateral. Accordingly, they require permits. For now, we have sent a letter to the European Commission to get some clarification. Also, we are suspending fines for the time being. I would like to emphasize separately: since year-start, the Ukrtransbezpeka watchdog has issued only four such fines against Polish carriers," Kubrakov noted.

Thus, from May 8, Polish carriers will be able to ship from any EU member state to Ukraine without the said permits and without being obliged to follow requirements for environmental standards of trucks.

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"At the moment, over 5,000 trucks are unable to cross our largest checkpoint. It is impossible to distribute the cargo flow in conditions of limited capacity and blockade of seaports. We are grateful to our Polish friends for their constant support in our fight against the aggressor and we count on further dialogue to unblock the border. We have taken the first step so we are awaiting the next step from them," Deputy Minister Serhiy Derkach emphasized.

The ministry recalled that, in accordance with the agreement between Ukraine and the European Union on cargo transportation, bilateral and transit transportation is not subject to the requirement to obtain permits.

As reported, from the morning of May 4, the Polish side suspended border clearance of trucks for both entry and exit. Only vehicles carrying humanitarian aid, hazardous goods, and animals are allowed to cross out of Poland (cross into Ukraine).

The situation arose due to a strike by Polish carriers just outside the Dorohusk border checkpoint. Among the demands put forward by protesters is the return of permits for international road cargo transportation for Ukrainian carriers as they cross into Poland. It is also about the application of the EURO4 environmental norm to Ukrainian carriers, which is applied to Polish carriers in Ukraine.