Polish carriers continue to block three checkpoints

Spokesman for Ukrainian State Border Guard Service Andriy Demchenko reported this on the air of the national telethon United News.

"The blocking of truck traffic across the Ukrainian-Polish border continues. Polish carriers started such actions on November 6. We began to record traffic complications after 13:00 in the direction of the Yahodyn checkpoint, followed by Krakivets and Rava-Ruska. In general, as of today, traffic to Ukraine in these three directions is completely restricted," Demchenko said.

He recalled that from the first day, Polish carriers completely blocked traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint, while truck traffic was possible through Krakivets and Rava-Ruska. On November 7, around 5 p.m., the Polish side stopped letting trucks pass through the other two directions as well.

"As of the morning of November 8, according to our Polish colleagues, about a thousand vehicles are waiting to cross the border in all three directions from Poland to Ukraine. Half of them are at the Yahodyn checkpoint," the spokesman stated.

At the same time, he noted that traffic for trucks through other checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border is free. According to him, the protesters are not blocking the movement of buses and cars.

The spokesperson also said that the protesters initially stated that they would allow humanitarian cargo to Ukraine, as well as fuel and perishable materials. However, later it was reported that Polish carriers intend to let only one truck per hour to Ukraine, regardless of what kind of cargo it is carrying.

"In fact, we see that only one or two trucks are now arriving at the Ukrainian checkpoint from Poland in these three directions," Demchenko added.

According to him, the situation is likely to get more complicated as Polish carriers have announced a long-term action.

"We certainly hope that they will stop such actions as soon as possible. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, there have been no official demands from Polish carriers. Ukraine, in turn, has initiated a meeting with the Polish side with all interested parties to resume the cross-border traffic," the spokesman said.

For the time being, he advised Ukrainian carriers to register in e-queues at other checkpoints. "Those who want to cross other checkpoints where traffic is not blocked can check the State Border Guard Service website for the workload at each of these checkpoints, choose a route and register in the e-queue," Demchenko explained.

As Ukrinform reported, on Monday, Polish carriers began a blockade of truck traffic near the three largest checkpoints on the border between Poland and Ukraine: Korczowa-Krakivets, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk-Yahodyn.

Tomasz Borkowski, the organizer of the protest near the Korczowa-Krakivets checkpoint, said that trucks would be blocked, but humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine would be allowed to pass through. According to him, the protest was officially registered by Polish carriers with local authorities until January 3, 2024.

Among the carriers' demands to the Polish government are the return of the practice of permits for Ukrainian carriers; toughening of ECMT (European Conference of Ministers of Transport) transportation rules for foreign carriers; inability to register companies in Poland if their financial activities are not in the EU; creation of a separate queue for cars with EU license plates; creation of a separate queue at all borders for empty trucks; and access to the Ukrainian Shliakh system.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zvarych called the blockade "a painful stab in the back of Ukraine" and called for an end to it.