Ukrainian farmers bring destroyed agricultural machinery to Polish border

Ukrainian farmers have brought agricultural machinery damaged or destroyed by the Russian invaders to the border with Poland.

The agricultural equipment will stay at the Krakivets-Korczowa border crossing until the end of March, Ukrinform reports, citing the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

Ukrainian farmers want to show Polish protesters in what conditions the farmers in Ukraine are currently working.

Among the damaged or destroyed agricultural machinery are tractors, a sprayer, a GAZ-53 truck and grain harvesters that were brought from the de-occupied areas of the Kherson region.

Ukrainian farmers say that they are fighting for the harvest at the cost of their lives. In 2023, 20 farmers were blown up by Russian mines in the de-occupied part of the Kherson region, and five of them died.

In general, the Ukrainian agricultural sector suffered more than EUR 80 billion in direct damage and losses over the two years of the full-scale war. The World Bank provided such data in its third Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3). The largest category of losses is damaged and destroyed agricultural machinery worth $5.8 billion.

On February 9, 2024, Polish farmers started a protest on Polish territory near the border with Ukraine, blocking the roads leading to the border checkpoints. They claimed that they were protesting against excessive imports of Ukrainian products to the Polish market.

Photo credit: Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine