(Kyiv) “The situation is catastrophic” at the border between Ukraine and Poland blocked by Polish truckers, where thousands of trucks are stuck, the Ukrainian commissioner in charge of human rights declared on Friday.
“The situation is catastrophic. Ukrainian drivers are in such a dire situation that they plan to go on hunger strike if things don’t improve! “, said Dmytro Loubinets on Telegram.
Ukrainian border guards reported on Friday that some 2,100 trucks were stuck on the Polish side of the border.
Polish road companies have been blocking several crossing points since the beginning of November, denouncing what they consider to be “unfair competition” from their neighbor.
They say in particular that they have seen their income fall and blame it on the abandonment of a permit system which governed the entry of Ukrainian transport companies into the EU.
Less than three weeks after the start of the blockade, Ukrainian economic losses were estimated at “more than 400 million euros” by the Ukrainian Employers’ Federation, which brings together around 8,000 companies.
Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Loubinets said he had contacted his Polish counterpart, Marcin Wiacek, but had not yet received a response.
According to Mr. Loubinets, the Kyiv authorities are preparing the “evacuation” of Ukrainian drivers stranded in Poland and plan to provide them with food, water, medicine and fuel. He did not give details on how these evacuations would be carried out.
Furthermore, Slovak truck drivers also began blocking a border crossing with Ukraine on Friday to protest against what they consider to be unfair competition from their Ukrainian counterparts.
PHOTO ARCHIVES REUTERS
Polish truckers blocked a crossing point with Ukraine near the village of Hrebenne on November 19.
A precarious situation for Ukraine, which relies heavily on the road to export its production and obtain supplies, because maritime transport, particularly in the Black Sea, has been hampered by the Russian invasion launched almost two years ago.
At least two rounds of negotiations between Kyiv, Warsaw and the truckers have failed.
Warsaw said this week it would carry out “enhanced checks” of Ukrainian trucks on roads leading to the border, in a bid to quell protests by hauliers.
The co-organizer of the Polish protests, Rafal Mekler, is the leader of a far-right movement.
Poland has taken in more than a million Ukrainian refugees since the war with Russia. But relations with Ukraine strained during the Polish legislative elections this fall, when the ruling party increased nationalist speeches and spats with Kyiv.