Polish farmer protesters spill Ukrainian grain on railway tracks

Polish farmers are staging a nationwide strike on Tuesday, blocking nearly 200 locations nationwide, including roads, key communication hubs, and border crossings with Ukraine. 

Protesters near the border opened a cargo container filled with agricultural products, spilling it onto the tracks, Rubryka reports, citing RMF24 and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

The protesters' main demands are a ban on importing Ukrainian agricultural products and Poland's rejection of the European Green Deal.

According to RMF24, Polish farmers plan to intensify their blockade at some border crossings with Ukraine. For example, near the Dorohusk-Yahodyn border crossing, farmers intend to block cargo traffic until 19:00 Kyiv time completely.

"This is our form of protest. The goal is to make it more tangible. We are constantly hoping that someone will engage in dialogue with us," said the protesters.

According to the publication, other groups, including hunting associations opposing restrictions on hunting within changes to the functioning of the agricultural sector, are joining the farmers' protest.

Slawomir Izdebski, leader of the agricultural sector of the OPZZ trade union, outlined the goal of today's protest:

"We are saying stop to the Green Deal, stop importing agricultural products from Ukraine, stop restricting animal breeding in Poland."

The Polish Council of Ministers will receive information on the situation in the sector from the Minister of Agriculture on Tuesday.

As Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported, Polish protesters near the border opened a cargo container filled with agricultural products, spilling it onto the tracks.

This happened near the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing. Protesters blocked the railway tracks for about 15 minutes before returning to the road, blocking cargo traffic movement.

Roman Kondruv, a co-organizer of the Polish farmer protest, said that protesters are spilling grain "out of emotions" because "people are in despair and cannot restrain themselves."

"We have no control over people, and they cannot hold back and spill it. We are bankrupt because everything is being brought in uncontrollably from Ukraine," he added.

As previously reported, since February 9, 2024, protests have been ongoing on roads leading to border crossings in the territory of Poland near the border with Ukraine.

The Polish agrarian union "Solidarity" announced that on February 20, Polish farmers plan to completely block all border crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border.