Do agricultural demands take precedence over the solidarity – major since the start of the conflict – of Poles towards their neighbors?
In any case, that’s what Volodymyr Zelensky seems to think.
The Ukrainian president said Monday that the blockade by Polish farmers of the border between the two countries demonstrates “the erosion of solidarity”.
Earlier in the day, it was the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, who described the farmers' movement as a “threat to security”.
“Blocking the border constitutes a direct threat to the security of a defending country.
Such actions have a negative impact on our confrontation with the common enemy called Russia,” Kubrakov denounced on Facebook.
Polish farmers, joined by agricultural workers from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, are staging a mass protest at the #Dorohusk border crossing with #Ukraine.
pic.twitter.com/SOTp8oPo2v
— Geo View (@theGeoView) February 18, 2024
“All exports are affected.
We can say that the situation is critical,” the minister later added on national television.
“Not only are agricultural products blocked, but they (
the protesters
) are blocking everything.
There are trucks with fuel.
A few days ago, there were cases where demonstrators did not let several trucks loaded with weapons pass,” he said.
Мої фури вже 3 dні стоять з військовою технікою під кордоном бо їх н е пукають їбані польські селюхи.
In the photo - you want to see what the artillery is about. озвантаження боєприпасів на позиції.
Please note that we are happy with the police force :) pic.twitter.com/nhDvHWeRU7
— Nazar Smyk (@nazar_london) February 19, 2024
According to the ministry, six checkpoints were blocked on the Polish side of the border.
“The most critical situation is at the Yagodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint, where truck traffic has completely stopped.
Humanitarian, perishable goods and fuel are stopped, said Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Serguiï Derkatch.
According to Michal Derus, spokesperson for the Chamber of Tax Administration in Lublin (eastern Poland), "around 600 trucks are currently waiting to leave Poland" at the Dorohusk border crossing, and the "estimated waiting time for this number of trucks to leave is approximately 232 hours,” he said in the morning.
Ban on grain imports
“No trucks entered Poland (from Ukraine).
We must therefore assume that it is a total blockade,” he said.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure also denounced the blocking of passenger buses.
“Women and children who have become refugees after fleeing the war and who return home for various reasons cannot become hostages of commercial interests,” declared Oleksandr Koubrakov, adding to expect “concrete actions from our Polish colleagues to avoid such situations and resolve the problem in general.”
Since last November, Polish farmers have regularly blocked several border crossing points with Ukraine to protest against competition from their neighbor.
Poland has been among Ukraine's biggest supporters since Russia's aggression against that country, but friction over Warsaw's unilateral ban on grain imports has damaged relations between the allies.
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In recent days, Poland has raised the possibility of imposing new import bans on Ukrainian agricultural products to protect its farmers.