Due to the Polish strike, 2 900 trucks, including humanitarian aid, are waiting in queues to enter Ukraine
- Author:
- Oleksandra Amru
- Date:
Getty Images / «Babel'»
There are about 2 900 cargo vehicles on the Ukrainian-Polish border — a queue has formed at three checkpoints: "Yagodin — Dorogusk", "Krakivets — Korchova" and "Rava-Ruska — Grebene".
The spokesman of the State Border Service (SBS) Andrii Demchenko informed about this on the air of the telethon.
The largest queue formed in front of "Krakivets" — 1 200 vans; in front of "Yagodin" — 1 100; and in front of "Rava-Ruska" — about 600. These data may be incomplete, as other trucks may be located further from the border, the spokesman notes.
The SBS reported that due to the blocking of the specified routes by Polish carriers, an increase in queues was recorded at other checkpoints as well — in particular, in front of Shegyniv, where about 1 300 trucks are. A total of 300 more vehicles in front of "Ugryniv", "Ustylug" and "Smilnytsia".
At the same time, the strike participants allow several trucks per hour both to and from Poland.
The spokesman also noted that before the strikes, about 1 200-1 300 trucks crossed the border daily in both directions at the Yagodyn checkpoint, and 600 trucks each at Krakivka and Ravi-Ruska.
The Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach said that the Poles, among other things, are blocking the passage of trucks with humanitarian aid for Ukrainians.
"We recorded numerous facts when fuel tankers and humanitarian trucks are standing in queues. We are passing on information about these cases to Polish colleagues from the ministry. We are waiting for an answer, how it is consistent with the statements about the unimpeded crossing of such cargoes," noted Derkach.
- On November 6, several dozen Polish transporters blocked three Polish-Ukrainian border points in the villages of Grebenne, Dorogusk and Korchova. The picketers are demanding a ban on the registration of transport companies with foreign capital in Poland, as Polish entrepreneurs are being pushed out of the market. They also demand restoration of entry permits to the European Union for Ukrainian carriers and improvement of service at the border.
- After negotiations, Polish carriers refused to stop blocking the border with Ukraine and rejected the joint proposals of the European Commission, Ukraine and Poland. A key demand of the protesters is a return to the permit system. The Ukrainian side stated that this demand cannot be fulfilled, and the Directorate of the European Commission emphasized that such an issue cannot be the subject of this meeting.
- On November 16, Polish colleagues were joined by Slovakian hauliers, who have been protesting against the liberalization of EU rules for Ukrainian trucks for several days.