Ukrainian farmers bring shelled agricultural machinery to border with Poland

Ukrainian farmers have brought agricultural machinery damaged or destroyed by Russian forces to the border with Poland, where Polish farmers have staged protests against food imports from Ukraine.

 From now on, it will be placed at the Krakovets-Korchova checkpoint and will remain there until the end of March, Rubryka reports, citing the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

Ukrainian farmers want to show Polish protesters the conditions under which Ukrainians are forced to work. Among the destroyed agricultural machinery are tractors, sprayers, a GAZ-53 truck, and combines from the de-occupied territories of the southern Kherson region.

For example, a K-701 tractor was provided by an enterprise from the front-line Bilozerka community. The farm was under occupation from March to November 2022. The occupiers destroyed virtually all the machinery and stole the harvest. Only ruins and craters from Russian shelling remained on the enterprise's territory. The direct losses of this business amounted to about €5 million.

Ukrainian farmers emphasized that they were fighting for the harvest at the cost of their lives. In 2023 alone, Russian mines blew up 20 farmers, and five died on de-occupied territories of the Kherson region.

Overall, the Ukrainian agrarian sector suffered over $80 billion in direct losses and damages during two years of full-scale war. The World Bank provides these figures in a report on assessments of losses and needs for Ukraine's recovery (RDNA3).

The largest category of losses is damaged and destroyed agricultural machinery, totaling $5.8 billion. Experts estimate the damage from the theft or destruction of already-produced agricultural products to be $1.97 billion. Losses due to damage to grain storage facilities amount to $1.8 billion, and losses to perennial plantations are estimated at $398 million. Animal husbandry suffered losses of $254 million, while aquaculture and fisheries suffered losses of $35 million.

Around 9 a.m., unknown individuals at the Dorohusk railway checkpoint emptied rapeseed from three carriers destined for Germany.

"In the morning, unidentified individuals at the Dorohusk station opened the hatches of two 1435 mm gauge grain carriers and emptied the rapeseed destined for Germany. Like other agricultural products, this cargo was transiting through Poland," the report said.

Vice Prime Minister for Restoration and Minister of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov urged the immediate identification and punishment of the criminals "so that others are not tempted to repeat their actions."

Ukrainian Railways is preparing a relevant appeal to the Polish law enforcement agencies about the incident.

Zelensky instructed the government to be at the border with Poland by February 24 to resolve the blockade and settle the Polish farmers' protests.

He also invited the head of the Polish government, Donald Tusk, and the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, to come to the border to support this dialogue.

The administration of Polish President Andrzej Duda supported Volodymyr Zelensky's idea of meeting to resolve the border issue. However, they believe that the meeting would be better held in a different location, not on the border.

The Polish and Ukrainian governments will meet on March 28 in Warsaw. Meanwhile, the Polish authorities have decided to include border crossing points with Ukraine, designated road sections, and railway tracks in the list of critical infrastructure. This will remove obstacles at the border to deliver weapons and humanitarian aid.