The situation is improving, but remains tense on the border between Ukraine and Poland. After a blockage of several weeks, Polish farmers lifted the blockade at the Medyka border post, located in the south of the country, on Sunday December 24. “Truck traffic has resumed”Ukrainian border guards announced on Facebook.
But two other crossing points remain closed on the Polish side, in order to denounce the “unfair competition” Ukrainian truckers, against a backdrop of trade disputes between Warsaw, kyiv and the European Union.
While traffic slowly resumed on Monday in the Ukraine-Poland direction, the newly appointed Polish government remained hard at work to calm the country’s truckers, after almost two months of blockages. Franceinfo returns to this border crisis with European dimensions.
1 Since when have road blockages targeted Ukrainian trucks?
As the Polish press agency PAP recalls, the country’s road hauliers launched their blockade actions on November 6. The checkpoints of Medyka, Dorohusk and Korczowa, three main transit points between Ukraine and Poland, were notably paralyzed by Polish truckers and farmers.
The demonstrators not only blocked the access of Ukrainian trucks to Poland: they also prevented truck drivers from reaching Ukraine. In mid-November, nearly 3,000 Ukrainian drivers were held on the Polish side for around ten days, creating queues sometimes 30 kilometers long, as reported by the BBC.
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“Thousands of [chauffeurs] are forced to live with little food, water and fuel.”, had detailed on Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov calling for the unblocking of traffic. But in the weeks that followed, the blockades forced the Ukrainian authorities to deploy teams to resupply the stranded truckers.
2 What are Polish road hauliers demanding?
The unblocking of a first major border crossing on Sunday represents a glimmer of hope in the dispute that has been tearing Warsaw and kyiv apart for many weeks. In Medyka, “registration and passage of trucks entering Ukraine are carried out as usual.”assure the Ukrainian border guards. But Polish truckers are still waiting for compensation in the fight between them and their neighbors to the south-east.
The Association of International Road Transporters in Poland (ZMPD) denounces on its website a “serious competitive imbalance of Polish transport companies” against Ukrainian companies. ZMPD members are demanding in particular the reestablishment of a European permit system for Ukrainian transport companies.
This system has been suspended by the EU since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in order to support the Ukrainian war effort thanks to “solidarity routes”, recalls Euronews. But Polish carriers believe that this has also created many opportunities for Ukrainian truck drivers, at much lower rates than their neighbors. After an extension, the pass exemption is currently in force until June 2024.
3 How are Warsaw and kyiv negotiating?
Poland, Ukraine’s ally in the war against the Russian invader, wants to adopt a new approach to this crisis. Newly come to power, his Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, vowed to put an end to “the long inaction” of the previous government in this matter.
Before the reopening of the Medyka post, the new head of Polish diplomacy, Radoslaw Sikorski, met, Friday December 22 in Kiev, Minister Oleksandr Koubrakov, as well as his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, but also the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
For kyiv, this situation, judged “unacceptable”, requires urgent solutions. “A common position” must be found “in the coming days”, hopes the head of Ukrainian diplomacy. In the midst of warming relations between the two countries, President Zelensky also spoke about X the purchase of new Polish weapons in Warsaw. For his part, Donald Tusk promised to find a solution with dissatisfied Polish carriers.
4 Do these blockages have an impact on the war in Ukraine?
While some Western military aid, such as munitions and armored vehicles, generally travels on rail networks, the road remains a lifeline for Ukraine at war. Among the trucks blocked in recent weeks, many were transporting food aid, fuel or even medical equipment, argued the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure.
Land transport to Ukraine, weakened in the space of two months, was almost reduced even more after threats and a series of blockades organized, at the beginning of December, by Slovak truck drivers at the Ukrainian border. At the height of the crisis, Hungarian carriers also threatened to join the movement.
While Russian bombings and drone attacks continue to fall on Ukraine, Poland nevertheless wants to continue supporting its invaded neighbor. Unlike the former government, which suspended military aid to kyiv in September, the new Polish executive assures that it will help its neighbor in the long term. “In this titanic fight, Poland is at your side”assured the head of Polish diplomacy on Friday, Radoslaw Sikorski, quoted by DW.